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Iraqi security forces have undertaken a broad self-assessment in the wake of series of deadly attacks in the Iraqi capital last month, a U.S. commander there said today.
A wave of truck bombings in Baghdad killed at least 100 people and injured more than 500 others in the deadly August 19th assault that exposed a lapse in security, according to U.S. defense officials.
With the current tight economy, consensus exists among officials in the Pentagon, Congress and the White House, "to try to address some of these acquisition issues that have built up cumulatively over a large number of years" said Secretary Gates.
The new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is an all-purpose aircraft that makes financial sense, Gates said. The F-35 will be used by the Air Force, the Marines Corps and the Navy. Once in production, he said, the F-35's unit price will be at less than half the cost of the F-22 Raptor fighter that is being tabbed for exclusive use by the U.S Air Force.
The Defense Department is slated to purchase 187 F-22s, which Gates called "a great airplane." But finite defense resources compelled the Pentagon to favor the F-35, he said.