Put Defense First, Hunter 
Says: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) has said it before, and he’s saying it again: The Pentagon must build a defense to meet the actual threats, and not shape the nation’s force to fit within a pre-determined budget number. The Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said last week that he will make that goal the focus of the panel’s so-called Committee Defense Review, which Hunter unveiled on Sept. 14. (DR, 09/15/05) The CDR’s Threat Panel held the first of several hearings last week. At one session, Hunter said that the “price tag” would come after determining “what it takes to defend America.” The threat panel’s hearings (DR, 09/23/05) will continue all this week.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
