Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), vice chairman of the Armed Services panel and chairman of the Tactical AirLand Force Subcommittee wants military commanders to decide when troops come home instead of the Commander in Chief—President Bush—or the Secretary of Defense—Donald Rumsfeld. The Congressional newspaper The Hill reports that Weldon is working on a resolution that would give decision-making power to military commanders. Military commanders are “the ones we’re paying to do the job,” Weldon told The Hill, and added, “They’re the best to assess the readiness of the Iraqi brigades.”
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
