There could be a shortfall in funding for brain injury patients—of which there are quite a few coming out of Southwest Asia—at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, reports the Raleigh News & Observer. Current funding ran $14 million, but the Pentagon only asked for $7 million in its 2007 budget request. A Senate appropriations staffer told the newspaper that the Pentagon failed to “respond properly” when queried about the mismatch. The paper also notes that military officials say the number of brain injuries is higher in ongoing operations than in previous wars, primarily because troops now live through the many attacks by improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers because of better equipment.
The U.S. continued to move a significant amount of airpower toward the Middle East in recent days as talks to forge a nuclear deal with Iran hung in the balance. Flight tracking data indicate there was unusually heavy movement of dozens of fighter jets and other assets that might be…
