Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, spokesman for Multi-National Forces-Iraq, explained last week to Iraqi journalists curious about the import of the Iraq Study Group report that President Bush decides US policy in Iraq, not the ISG authors, or newly confirmed Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who served on the ISG. Stars and Stripes reports that Caldwell explained, “Our President will consider it along with some other input he’s going to receive in deciding what adjustments, if any, he will make to our strategy.”
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.

