The House Armed Services Committee has alerted the Administration that it wants to form a special commission to examine the US strategic posture, “particularly regarding nuclear weapons policy.” Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), committee chairman, and Rep. Ellen Taushcer (D-Calif.), head of the strategic forces panel, sent a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice last week following their release of the Administration’s nuclear strategy. Skelton and Tauscher said they “take issue with your assertion” that a delay in the reliable replacement warhead program would mean the US must sustain the current nuclear stockpile through costly and risky life extension efforts and potentially return to underground testing. They conclude that it is “too early to know whether RRW can deliver on the objectives that have been established for the program.” And, they suggest that “the prudent course” is “rigorous study” of the feasibility of the objectives.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III hosted his second Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in a virtual format May 23, drawing 47 nations that back Ukraine’s fight against Russia but leaving questions about when the war might end. New coastal defense systems and more artillery, armor, and tanks were highlighted…