Word: pentagonal
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Most recently, Boeing has said it needs six months - not the 45 days offered by the Pentagon - to draft a new bid for a larger tanker than it originally offered (Northrop-Grumman's bigger plane had given it an edge). Boeing had threatened to pull out of the competition entirely if it didn't get additional time. That would have forfeited the contract to Northrop Grumman, but it also would have galvanized Boeing's congressional allies into opposing the sole-source award to Northrop, whose partner on the tanker project is Europe's Airbus consortium...
...officials say the relative peace in Iraq - attacks by insurgents have fallen 80% since last year - remains fragile. A lack of progress in resolving the country's political divisions could trigger more violence, especially if large U.S. units pull out, Pentagon officials say. When the British pulled out of the southern city of Basra in 2007, the resulting vacuum was filled by Shi'ite militia units until the Iraqi government sent in its improving army in March and brought the city under Baghdad's control. And Bush doesn't want to begin a major withdrawal that could jeopardize recent security...
...same time, however, the Pentagon is in no rush to hand over responsibility for defending the country to Iraqis. Many on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon had expected sharp cuts in U.S. troop levels there to begin this fall, but instead, the Pentagon is urging a more gentle paring of its 146,000 troop complement in Iraq. Following the Defense Department's recommendation, President Bush is expected on Tuesday to announce an 8,000-troop cut due to occur by the time his successor is inaugurated on January...
...officials say the go-slow drawdown is driven by the fragility of the security gains in Iraq, where attacks by insurgents have fallen 80% since last year. But a lack of political progress in the country could trigger more violence, especially if large U.S. units pull out, Pentagon officials say. When the British pulled out of the southern city of Basra in 2007, the resulting vacuum was filled by Shi'ite militia units until the Iraqi government sent in its improving army in March and brought it under Baghdad's control. Petraeus also doesn't want to risk a security...
...Pentagon officials say there's no conflict between the slow withdrawal of U.S. troops and Baghdad's desire to buy warplanes. "The troop numbers are designed to stabilize Iraq in the short term," one said. "The F-16s - if they get them - are for the long term...