Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has added his voice to the Administration chorus chanting “veto, veto” if lawmakers enact a proposed $7 billion cut to the President’s request for the Fiscal 2006 defense spending bill. Of particular note in a letter Rumsfeld sent to appropriations legislators is his list of “particular concern” programs, which includes the Joint Strike Fighter, Space Radar, and the Transformation Satellite.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
