Pentagon Press Briefing

At a press briefing held with Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, he said that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates believes there needs to be a bigger education budget for the military, and there needs to be an improved GI Bill. It is known, Morrell said, that families determine whether or not military personnel become career, and therefore there is fear that lack of good education benefits will create incentive to leave. It is important to hold on to battle tested troops, which Morrell said Secretary Gates feels is the key in our conflicts.

Morrell said it has been made clear that we are going to be increasing pressure on Iran, to get them to change their ways. All military options, he said, are on the table. The pressure is being increased by military, economic, and diplomatic forces, so that Iran will say they’re ready to talk in a reasonable and productive way. To increase pressure on Iran, military pressure is being applied within the confines of Iraq, and also outside of Iraq, such as with our carrier groups in the Persian Gulf.

The battle of the biggest budget begins

The House Armed Services Committee began the long and tedious process of marking up the Defense Authorization bill for fiscal 2009. The markup is expected to go on throughout the day. The Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO), in his opening statement expressed his position that the war in Afghanistan should be the primary focus of the American military efforts in the Middle East. This runs somewhat contrary to statements made by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates when he spoke at the Heritage Foundation in Colorado Springs yesterday, "The risk of overextending the Army is real. But I believe the risk is far greater — to that institution, as well as to our country — if we were to fail in Iraq. That is the war we are in. That is the war we must win."

Skelton also said that the bill offered a pay increase for the military, a greater commitment to fighting weapons of mass destruction, and reforms for the contracting structure within the U.S. Army. He said that the bill addresses the command and control issues that have arisen in Afghanistan and the combined NATO operations there. Ranking Member Dunking Hunter (R-CA) emphasizes future combat systems funding and the need to increase the size of the Army.

The first subcommittee to present their markup and amendments was the Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities. The subcommittee chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said that they have authorized $185 million beyond the president's budget for special operations capabilities. The ranking member of the subcommittee, Mac Thorberry made the most political statement saying that fighting terrorism goes beyond the Armed Services Committee and that the failure to pass FISA in the House and the limits currently being extracted on intelligence officials' interrogation techniques increase, "Our potential vulnerability to new threats..." He spoke out against Nancy Pelosi saying that "no good deed goes unpunished" as she uses Iraq war funding and the Colombia Free Trade Agreement as leverage against President Bush.

House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight holds a hearing on Iraq "Declaration of Principles"

Chairman Bill Delahunt (D-Mass) discussed the “Declaration of Principles” issued by the Bush administration on November 26th, 2007. He expressed disappointment with the administration over the declaration, saying that details of the document were kept secret and worried that it suggested an indefinite military presence in Iraq. He said that administration officials declined three separate invitations to speak before the subcommittee regarding the declaration and that the only official to discuss the declaration was Secretary of Defense Robert Gates during a hearing two days ago.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) said that he has been a strong supporter of the Iraq war since the invasion but he mimicked Delahunt’s message saying that the administration’s unwillingness to cooperate with Congress “breeds mistrust” in Washington and with Americans. He said that the administration may have good intentions but that the “cloak of secrecy” surrounding discussion of the declaration “undermines the success to implement the strategy.”

Michael J. Glennon, professor of international Law at Tufts University spoke before the subcommittee saying that the declaration was “ambiguous.” He said that it could be construed to imply a longterm military presence in Iraq and that under the constitution, the President must seek Congressional approval before enacting such provisions.