Washington: The US senate confirmed Robert Gates to become President George W. Bush's new defence secretary.

Once sworn in, Gates, 63, will replace embattled defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who resigned Nov 8 after Bush decided his policy in Iraq needed "fresh eyes".

Gates was approved a day after the senate committee considering the nomination voted unanimously for approval. The full senate confirmed Gates Wednesday by a 95-2 vote.

Gates has served as the director of the CIA from 1991 to 1993 and had been president of Texas A&M University before Bush asked him to return to government.

The senate's confirmation of Gates coincided with the release of a bipartisan report that offered a blunt assessment of the deteriorating situation in Iraq and called for sweeping changes to Bush's policy.

Gates had served on the panel until Bush tapped him to replace Rumsfeld, one day after the president's Republican party lost control of Congress in the Nov 7 elections, largely viewed as a referendum on Iraq.

During his confirmation hearings, Democrats welcomed Gates' straightforward assessment of Iraq and his desire to change the US approach in the war-torn country. Gates acknowledged that the US was "not winning" in Iraq and that a change in policy was essential.

"We need to work together to develop a strategy that does not leave Iraq in chaos and that protects our long-term interests in and hopes for the region," Gates said.

Gates warned that unless the trend of sectarian violence was reversed, the conflict in Iraq could spread to the broader Middle East and greatly threaten US interests in the region.

"Our course over the next year or two will determine whether the American and Iraqi people.will face a slowly but steadily improving situation in Iraq and in the region, or will face the very real risk and possible reality of a regional conflagration," he added.

Many prominent Democrats, including senators Hillary Clinton and Edward Kennedy, had called for Rumsfeld to resign, blaming him for mismanaging the conflict and failing to adequately plan for post-war stabilisation.

Gates, who has been critical of the administration, agreed that Rumsfeld had not deployed enough troops to Iraq to secure the country in the weeks following the April 2003 collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Rumsfeld, 74, has been one of the longest serving defence secretaries in US history.