11.   He had worked on defense issues, as a government official and as a professor, for close to three decades.

12.   He has extensive experience dealing with defense budget issues.

13.   He has appeared at smaller events and followed a standard and often brief script, talking about weighty defense issues and moral values, among other topics.

14.   If America and China could avoid an early clash over Taiwan, they just might find a way to defuse the missile defense issue.

15.   In nearly five years in Congress, Harman has forged a reputation as a conservative on defense issues and a moderate on social policies.

16.   It does in fact deal with defense issues and is striving for a common foreign and defense policy.

17.   Lawmakers with military experience certainly bring a unique perspective and familiarity with many defense issues that Congress must address.

18.   Leon S. Fuerth, a senior adviser to Gore, said that Gore had built enormous credibility on defense issues as a senator and as vice president.

19.   Looking back on the debate, Biden asserted that the administration had erred by trying to steal the missile defense issue from Republicans.

20.   Louis Rodrigues, the director of defense acquisition issues for the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, also testified Wednesday.