Word in Austin is that Rick Perry is doing everything necessary to prepare for a presidential run, including brushing up on foreign policy.
We hear that he recently met with top national-security experts Doug Feith and William Luti.
Feith, who served in the George W. Bush administration as under secretary of defense, confirmed to National Review Online that he had met with Perry in Austin Wednesday. He would not divulge the details of the conversation, but said it centered on “national security” matters.
Luti, who also served in the Bush administration as special assistant to the president and senior director for defense policy and strategy for the National Security Council, also reportedly attended the meeting.
Perry spokesman Mark Miner neither confirmed nor denied the meeting occurred.
“The Governor has always enjoyed meeting with a wide array of folks who bring unique experiences and views to the issues of the day,” Miner told National Review Online. “As part of his decision making process, the Governor is talking to many people around the country. I’m not going to comment on any specific meetings or conversations.”
UPDATE: An Austin-based source tells me that Perry has met with two more Bush administration national security experts this week: William Inboden, who served as senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council, and Daniel Fata, who served as a key adviser to both Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates.
UPDATE II: Inboden e-mailed me to say he has not met with Gov. Perry.