Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) declares that the Pentagon’s QDR “has become a budget-driven exercise, which limits its utility to Congress.” Hunter, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is leading a charge to separate what the Pentagon needs to address threats as opposed to what it can afford. He says, the “Committee Defense Review” he began last year, taken in conjunction with the QDR, will provide “a more complete picture of America’s national security needs.”
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.
