Where’s My Posse?: The President has this idea that the military should have a domestic role in restoring order after disasters—natural or otherwise. Lawmakers are pursuing the idea as well. Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia has asked the Pentagon to review the legal precedents. (DR, 9/16/05) Rumsfeld maintains that it’s a question for Congress and the President. “We do those things that we’re authorized to do and are instructed to do,” he says. Still, he told reporters that DOD does “have an obligation and a responsibility and a capability and a capacity in that regard.” However, “the trigger” lies elsewhere, he says.
The Air Force plans to add external weapons pylons on the B-1B bomber, both to increase the number of aircraft that can test hypersonic missiles and expand the Lancer’s loadout as USAF transitions to the B-21 bomber.