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.
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space…