Obama defends himself from Gates' book criticism --- (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday rejected criticism from former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who questioned whether the president supported his own policy toward Afghanistan. -- Answering questions during an Oval Office appearance, Obama said Gates was an outstanding defense secretary and that because of the strategy that the Obama administration formulated, the United States will have concluded combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of this year. -- "I think what's important is that we got the policy right but that this is hard and it always has been," Obama said. --- "Just as I have continued to have faith in our mission, most importantly I've had unwavering confidence in our troops, in their performance in some of the most difficult situations," Obama said.-- He said the United States and its coalition partners still have troops in harm's way and "we need to see this job all the way through." -- After Obama was elected in 2008 to succeed Republican President George W. Bush, Gates agreed to Obama's request that he remain as defense secretary, becoming the first Pentagon chief to serve presidents of different parties. -- Obama has made no secret of wanting to extract U.S. troops from Afghanistan. - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/13/us-usa-gates-obama-idUSBREA0C1H120140113