President Bush signed the 2007 defense authorization bill on Oct. 17, some 11 days after receiving it from Congress. Addressing the numerous provisions for DOD to submit reports on various subjects, Bush made clear that he would uphold his constitutional authorities to withhold information from the Congress if “the disclosure of which could impair foreign relations, the national security, the deliberative processes of the executive, or the performance of the executive’s constitutional duties,” according to a White House press release. He also took exception to a provision that “purports to prohibit the Secretary of the Navy from retiring a specified warship,” saying it would “impermissibly interfere” with his role as Commander in Chief. Would that the President had made the same argument for aircraft the Air Force wants to retire.
Unmanned aerial vehicles are fair game for U.S. Special Operations Command’s armed overwatch platform competition, Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. James C. “Jim” Slife told reporters on Feb. 26. However, the MQ-9 Reaper drone might not be up to the challenge in its current form, he suggested during…