Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), veteran, long-time defense proponent, and now ranking minority member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has rejected the Bush Administration’s plan to send more American troops to Iraq. In a statement released on the eve of the President’s State of the Union address, Warner says a bipartisan resolution submitted on the new Iraq strategy is “not meant to be confrontation” but to “express the genuine concerns of a number of senators from both parties.” Joining Warner in submitting the resolution were Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.) The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has two sessions scheduled Thursday on the Iraq issue and may attempt to reconcile the Warner resolution and a more confrontational one proposed by key Democrats.
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.