Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), vice chairman of the Armed Services panel and chairman of the Tactical AirLand Force Subcommittee wants military commanders to decide when troops come home instead of the Commander in Chief—President Bush—or the Secretary of Defense—Donald Rumsfeld. The Congressional newspaper The Hill reports that Weldon is working on a resolution that would give decision-making power to military commanders. Military commanders are “the ones we’re paying to do the job,” Weldon told The Hill, and added, “They’re the best to assess the readiness of the Iraqi brigades.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.