The United States was the first country to offer humanitarian aid to Lebanese refugees two and a half weeks ago, according to Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs. Burns told defense reporters Thursday morning that the US has pledged $30 million worth of assistance, including medical kits for 10,000 refugees. He declined to comment on possible US troop involvement in either peacekeeping or humanitarian actions. Burns did say that the US supports the UN plan to hold a conference in Stockholm at the end of this month to further discuss aid and reconstruction efforts.
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.
