Mitt Romney Endorses John McCain VIDEO

Governor Mitt Romney Endorses John McCain For President ARLINGTON, VA -- At a press conference in Boston today, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney endorsed John McCain for president. In addition, Governor Romney pledged all 289 of his delegates to John McCain,

putting McCain over the required 1,191 delegates necessary to secure the Republican nomination. See delegate count

Governor Romney issued the following statement on his endorsement:

"Thank you all very much. And thank you all for joining us on such short notice.

"This isn't my first joint appearance with Senator John McCain, but it promises to be one of our more pleasant exchanges.

"I am honored today to give my full support to Senator McCain's candidacy for President of the United States. Today I am asking my delegates to vote for Senator McCain.

"As you all saw over the past year, things can get rough in a political campaign. And in the thick of the fight it's easy to lose sight of your opponent's finer qualities. But in the case of Senator John McCain, I could never quite do that. Even when the contest was close and our disagreements were debated, the caliber of the man was apparent.

"This is a man capable of leading our country at a dangerous hour. Senator McCain understands the war we are in -- the necessity of victory and the consequences of surrender. For him, national security isn't just another item on the agenda. It is the abiding concern and responsibility of our nation.

"This is a man who tied his political fortunes to the fortunes of his country in a time of war. Such courage is not always rewarded in politics, but it was this time -- and that is a credit to both the man and to the party he will lead in the election of 2008.

"This is a man who has served and suffered for his country. John McCain's greatest test was long ago. But the loyalty, and love of country, and strength of heart that saw him through are still the qualities that define him. With their rhetoric, our Democratic opponents are very skilled at striking heroic poses. But with our Republican nominee, we're going to offer America the real thing.

"I am pleased to introduce a real America hero, the next president of the United States, Senator John McCain."

John McCain made the following remarks thanking Governor Romney for his endorsement:

"I thank Governor Romney for his endorsement. More than that, I thank him for the hard, intensive, fine, honorable campaign that he ran for the nomination of our Party. And I think it is also extremely important to me that not only do I have his endorsement, but that we join together now and travel this country not only on behalf of my candidacy, but on behalf of our Republican candidates for the House, the Senate, for Governor and all of the other races that we are committed to and are so important to the future of this country.

"I'm grateful for the fact that Governor Romney has served the state of Massachusetts. I'm grateful that he ran a hard, tough, and frankly a campaign that helped me become a better candidate not only in the primary, but also in the general election.

"Governor Romney will help me draw the stark differences that exist between myself and the things that he and I stand for and believe in and the Democratic candidates. Whether we have higher taxes, as the Democrats will want to impose, or lower taxes. Whether there will be a government-run health care system in America, or whether families will make choices on health care. Whether we will retreat and declare withdrawal from Iraq, or whether we will continue this surge and now the political process that's moving forward there. There will be stark differences.

"I look forward to campaigning with Governor Romney and I look forward to his continued, very important role of leadership in our Party that he has exercised in the past and will exercise even more so in the future. Governor Romney, I thank you. We all know it was a hard campaign -- primaries are tough. We know it was a hard campaign. And now we move forward together for the good of our Party and the nation and I am very honored to have Governor Romney and the members of his team at my side -- that's a vital ingredient for victory in November."

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Navy to Shoot Down Malfunctioning Satellite VIDEO

By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2008 – The Navy will shoot down a malfunctioning U.S. spy satellite sometime after Feb. 20, government officials said during a Pentagon news conference today.

Ambassador James F. Jeffrey, assistant to the President and deputy national security advisor, said President Bush decided to bring down the satellite because of the likelihood that the satellite could release hydrazine, a toxic chemical used as a maneuvering fuel.

“The likelihood of the satellite falling in a populated area is small, and the extent and duration of toxic hydrazine in the atmosphere would be limited,” Jeffrey said. “Nevertheless, if the satellite did fall in a populated area, there was the possibility of death or injury to human beings beyond that associated with the fall of satellites and other space debris.”

The window for shooting down the satellite opens in the next three or four days and remains open for as many as seven or eight days, said Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said the study group looked carefully at increased risks to the shuttle and International Space Station and decided they are negligible. “We are very comfortable that this is a decision made carefully, objectively and safely,” Griffin said.

Still, the Navy will not fire until after the shuttle Atlantis mission ends Feb. 20.

In late January, the U.S. government notified other nations that the satellite was unresponsive and would make an uncontrolled reentry in late February or early March.

The Navy has modified three SM-3 missiles aboard Aegis ships to strike the satellite, Cartwright said. The Navy wants to intercept the satellite at a point just above the atmosphere so there would be a high likelihood of bringing it down in an unpopulated area. An intercept also would rupture the hydrazine tank. The vice chairman would not say exactly where the ships would fire from, only saying it will be from the northern hemisphere and the Pacific Ocean.

Intercepting the satellite at about 130 nautical miles altitude will reduce the risk of debris in space. Once the satellite is hit, officials hope 50 percent of the debris will come to Earth in the first two orbits and the rest shortly thereafter, Cartwright said.

The satellite belongs to the National Reconnaissance Office and was launched Dec. 14, 2006. It weighs roughly 5,000 pounds, and computer models show that roughly 2,800 pounds would survive reentry. “What is different here is the hydrazine,” Cartwright said. “In this case, we have some historical background that we can work against for the tank that contains the hydrazine. We had a similar one on Columbia that survived reentry. We have a pretty reasonable understanding that, if the tank is left intact, it would survive the reentry.”

The tank is circular with a radius of 20 inches. It holds about 1,000 pounds of the fuel.

While details of the satellite are classified -- DoD officials will not release who built it or how much it costs -- that had no bearing on the decision to shoot it down, Cartwright said. The temperatures from reentry would burn up any classified system on the satellite, he said.

Hydrazine is similar to chlorine or ammonia in that it affects lung tissue. People inhaling it would feel a burning sensation. “If you stay close to it and inhale a lot of it, it could be deadly,” Cartwright said.

If the military did not shoot down the satellite, the hydrazine would disperse over an area roughly the size of two football fields, the general said. Those who breathed it would need medical attention.

“As we reviewed the data, if we fire at the satellite, the worst that could happen is that we miss,” Cartwright said. “Then we have a known situation, which is where we are today.”

Grazing the satellite would probably still bring it down quicker and more predictably, he said. “If we hit the hydrazine tank, then we’ve improved the potential to mitigate that threat,” he said. “The regret factor of not acting clearly outweighed the regret factor of acting.”

Biographies:

• Gen. James E. Cartwright, USMC
• James F. Jeffrey
• Michael Griffin

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