Pentagon misses deadline for releasing base-closing data

[The Straight Story]

Pentagon misses deadline for releasing base-closing data

By Megan Scully, CongressDaily
The Pentagon released much of its base-closure data this weekend, but officials still have not finished scouring classified material from all information used to make recommendations to shutter 33 major domestic bases and realign others.

Lawmakers representing states affected by the closures have criticized the Pentagon for what they consider a failure to provide adequate and timely information to analyze Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's recommendations.

The Pentagon last week opened a classified reading room at the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission's offices in Crystal City, Va., and officials said they would complete the declassification of all data by Saturday, making it available for public review.

Department officials failed to meet that goal because it involves reviewing "hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pages" for any classified information, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Monday. Meeting the deadline became "impossible" because of the "stunning amount of information," the spokeswoman added.

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