John Kerry, who may or may not be the next Secretary of State or Defense, threw his support behind the program and 28 members of Congress signed a petition, with presidents and staff of universities ranging from Stanford to Princeton, chiming in.

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Unfortunately, the same questions might well be posed today about another aerospace technology in which the United States currently enjoys a decisive competitive advantage -- thanks to a farsighted and ambitious Defense Department program and the congressional support it has long received: the V-22 "Osprey" tiltrotor aircraft.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

Commercial satellite imagery helps do that, one reason a bi-partisan group of Congressmen, including Senate Select Committee on Intelligence members Mark Warner (D-Va.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta requesting full support for the program.

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