At another Capitol Hill hearing later on Wednesday, Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, head of US Strategic Command, acknowledged that the 2007 defense budget called for cutting the Minuteman force from 500 to 450, however, he added that the number of warheads would stay the same. That answers some of the mail, but there are lawmakers waiting to hear whether it will be their state that takes the hit.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
