President Bush on Jan. 4 took advantage of the congressional recess to officially appoint Gordon England to be the Deputy Secretary of Defense. England’s nomination has been stalled in the Senate since March. The recess appointment lasts until January 2007. Now, at least, we feel somewhat better about England’s right to succeed Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. (Although it is still strange that the line now runs to the Intel guy and pals, instead of to the service secretaries. Hmmmm.)
With key members of Congress wavering on the possibility of a $350 billion defense reconciliation bill, defense experts told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the Pentagon is likely drawing up budget backup plans—but such plans would face hard choices between high-end weapons and low-cost drones and other programs in…