Newly anointed Democratic heads of key Congressional positions used Sunday talk shows to outline their views on the Iraq war, even before receiving the report from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. One key Democratic Senator already has a timeline in mind. Senate Armed Services Committee chair-to-be Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said on ABC’s “This Week,” that he wants to see a “phased redeployment of forces from Iraq in four to six months.”
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.