Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), veteran, long-time defense proponent, and now ranking minority member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has rejected the Bush Administration’s plan to send more American troops to Iraq. In a statement released on the eve of the President’s State of the Union address, Warner says a bipartisan resolution submitted on the new Iraq strategy is “not meant to be confrontation” but to “express the genuine concerns of a number of senators from both parties.” Joining Warner in submitting the resolution were Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.) The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has two sessions scheduled Thursday on the Iraq issue and may attempt to reconcile the Warner resolution and a more confrontational one proposed by key Democrats.
Promotions to the Space Force’s second highest enlisted grade, senior master sergeant, have surged to the highest level in the young service’s history, bolstering the senior NCO corps as officials plan to aggressively expand the force and especially the enlisted corps.