Word: coverting
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Supposedly, covert U.S. financing of the contra campaign has long made Congress uneasy, but up to now a fragile coalition has accepted the Administration's arguments for it. These are, in essence, that aid to the contras'war is both justified to punish Nicaragua for supporting the leftist insurrection in neighboring El Salvador, and necessary to harass the Sandinistas into giving up their ambitions of fomenting Communist revolution throughout Central America. Only two weeks ago, the Senate tacked $21 million for the contras onto an appropriations bill for famine relief in Africa, which was slated for quick approval...
...concerns the nature of covert operations. They cannot be dispensed with in a hard world where dedicated enemies resort to them freely. But they are extraordinarily difficult to conduct successfully, and not only because in a democracy they cannot long be kept secret. That, to be sure, is a major problem, internally as well as externally. Partial stories leak; wild rumors fly; the Government is unable to explain fully what it is doing and why; public distrust grows...
Another trouble, though, arises because in the early stages, at least, covert operations are secret. Planning for any kind of successful policy must define realistic objectives, set limits on what is to be attempted, consider whether the means available match those required, carefully weigh potential benefits against likely costs. All that is much easier to achieve when a proposal is subject to wide debate than when, even inside the Government, it can be discussed only under hush-hush conditions by a tightly limited group of officials. Sloppy planning too often slips by in those circumstances. An inordinate number of covert...
...Sandinistas' case is compelling, if not moot, since the press has reported on American involvement in this "secret war" for more than a year, and Congress has been openly debating the extent of "covert" aid for some time. The latest alleged "action" against our Central American adversaries is CIA control of mining operations in Nicaraguan harbors, an act of terrorism that quite likely constitutes...
...Meese. Nominated for the prestigious post of Attorney General, Edwin R. Meese III discovered he could only proceed down Pennsylvania Avenue to Justice after a laborious detour on Capitol Hill before the Senate Judiciary committee. Meese's apparent involvement in or knowledge of the Reagan camp's acquisition of covert Carter campaign papers in 1980 promised, by itself, to be only a minor fly in the confirmation ointment. But then came the money...