Word: pentagonal
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...bring black programs under closer scrutiny. Last week a House Armed Services panel met twice to grill Defense officials on the management of the clandestine projects. One reason for the concern is the astounding growth of the programs during the Reagan Administration. According to an analysis of the Pentagon budget by the National Journal, black budgets for researching, developing and procuring secret weapons increased from a mere $892 million in 1981 to $8.6 billion for the up-coming fiscal year. Legislators are concerned that major strategic and budgetary decisions are being made without proper discussion. Under pressure two weeks...
Critics of black programs charge that they are often so designated to circumvent the usual competitive procurement procedures. Even a Pentagon panel that issued a report last year titled Keeping the Nation's Secrets concluded that programs could be designated black for reasons other than national security. That can lead to some anomalous situations: the Air Force and Navy will jointly develop versions of an advanced-technology fighter plane, and though the Air Force openly states that its version will cost $35 million apiece, the Navy is keeping its figures under wraps. Yet Senator Barry Goldwater, who has become increasingly...
...most aggressive assault on black programs comes from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has requested a detailed rundown of the Air Force's supersecret projects. The Pentagon is trying to cut a deal with the lawmakers to avoid a full disclosure. "There are a large number of the programs," says Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. "They will, we think, give us an advantage. And the way to maintain that advantage is not to talk very much about them." --By Jacob V. Lamar Jr. Reported by Michael Duffy and Bruce van Voorst/Washington
...Marcoses, however, leaving may be the best revenge. In the manner of deposed royalty, they have apparently taken the lion's share of their wealth into Hawaiian exile with them, together with their imperial habits. Last week the Pentagon reported that the cost of transporting and supporting Marcos and his retinue had come to $450,000, thanks in part to the $500 long-distance telephone bills run up each day by the party. As the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations debated the merits of entertaining the exiled dictator in such high style, Marcos reportedly was looking for a haven...
...aircraft-carrier diplomacy. It is the pre-eminent weapon of an age in which America can no longer depend automatically on its 40-year-old system of alliances to project its power overseas. And it is at the heart of a heated debate that engages diplomatic strategists and Pentagon reformers alike: What is the role of the supercarrier in the military of America's future...