Policy Critique

Eric Edelman, Pentagon policy chief in the George W. Bush administration, will soon be in a position to dissect the work of his immediate successor, Michèle Flournoy, on the Quadrennial Defense Review.

Edelman is one of two picks announced today by House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) to serve on a congressionally mandated panel charged with critiquing the results of the ongoing review.

Former Republican senator from Missouri, Jim Talent, is McKeon's second pick. Talent is a distinguished fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) is expected to follow suit with the announcement of his two picks "soon," which could be as early as today, panel spokeswoman Lara Battles tells us.