In this image released by the US Department of Defence, Defense Secretary Robert Gates (L) listes to a member of Task Force Troy, a unit which handles improvised explosive devices,at Camp Victory in Baghdad, 22 December 2006. Returning from a swift three-day visit to Iraq in his first week in the post, Gates was to report to President George W. Bush on his talks with Iraqi leaders, during which he discussed ways to step up US assistance to secure violence-torn Baghdad. AFP PHOTO/DOD/CHERIE A. THURLBY