Pentagon seeks authority to train and equip foreign militaries

Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Congress on Tuesday to grant the Pentagon permanent authority to train and equip foreign militaries, a task previously administered by the State Department, and to raise the annual budget for the effort to $750 million, a 250 percent increase. Gates said that rapidly building up the armed forces of friendly nations to combat terrorism within their borders was 'a vital and enduring military requirement' — and one that should be managed by the Defense Department. Representative Ike Skelton, the Missouri Democrat who is the Armed Services Committee chairman, voiced apprehension over 'what appears to be the migration of State Department activities to the Department of Defense.'