The Nation - News from Nov. 29, 1985

A wide-ranging investigation into how secret Army units spent more than $300 million over the last five years has stirred a debate within the Defense Department about the military’s covert operations. Some senior Army officers believe the secret units--given new attention and resources after the humiliating attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran--”got carried away,” in the words of one four-star general, and failed to properly account for money used in clandestine missions. A split has developed between Army leaders, both active and retired, over the service’s venture into “this James Bond stuff,” as one two-star general put it.