European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 3, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes monday March 3, 1986 Dod complaints prompt report to Aspin Gao looks at Pentagon s efforts Tor Congress by Cunt Swift Washington Bureau Washington the charge that Congress asks the defense department for too Many reports May be right but the claim that defense officials spend too much time testifying before too Many committees in t borne out by Pentagon statistics a government report says. The conclusions Are contained in a Gen eral accounting office report requested by rep. Les Aspin d-wis., chairman of the House armed services committee. Looking for trends in the Pentagon s own figures the congressional watchdog Agency compared the decade 1965-74 with 1975-84 and found the average number of committees or subcommittees requesting hearings nearly tripled from 27 to 79but the number of hearings Rose Only 5 percent from 434 to 456. The average number of times per year the Secretary of defense testified dropped from 24 to 19 21 percent. While the num Ber of Dod officials testifying each year went up the average number of hours they spent testifying went Down. The average number of written inquiries per year went from 164,388 to 108,772 Down 34 percent. The average annual number of Tele phone inquiries decreased from 616,385 to 505,911 18 percent. The Gao said significant increases were found in the number of pages in budget justification books and in the number of directions Congress gave the defense department through committee reports on Bills especially after 1983. From 1974 to 1982, the number of pages in the backup books Rose an average of 1,024 pages each year. During the next three years however the number of pages Rose an average of 1,668 a year. The number of orders Congress gave the Pentagon went up by about 36 a year from 1970 to 1982, the Gao report said. But from 1983 to 1986 legislation for fiscal 1986 was written in 1985it went up by 115 directions a year. A cover letter from Gao director Frank Conahan said Aspin requested the study after Pentagon officials complained about the Burden during congressional testimony. The defense department seems to have a legitimate Gripe that it is burdened with writing too Many reports Aspin said. But otherwise the statistics Don t show a grow ing  Aspin said the numbers show that de sense Secretary Caspar Weinberger has spent less time testifying before Congress than any defense Secretary during the pre ceding 20 years. But the figures show that Over the last two decades secretaries of defense spent an average of 70 hours each year testifying before congressional committees. Last year Navy Secretary John Lehman or. Said that while 10 years ago four committees wrote defense legislation today 24 committees and 40 subcommittees oversee defense. The Gao and Aspin said the Pentagon figures show that in t the problem. The information provided by Dod suggests that the increase in reporting require ments comes primarily from committees and subcommittees which have had Juris diction Over Dod s budget for Many years rather than from an increase in the number of committees and subcommittees request ing information from Dod the report said. Primarily those committees Are the armed services committees the defense appropriations subcommittees and the Bud get committees of the House and Senate. What appears to be happening is that Many of the additional subcommittees Are calling for a solitary appearance by a single defense witness which jacks up the num Bers the Pentagon likes to quote Aspin said. But he was concerned about the reports. We Only required 36 in 1970," he said. But the total passed 200 in 1980, 400 in 1984 and 600 in 1986." Aspin said there Are four kinds of reports Congress asks for. First there Are those cases where we Congress try to fend off an unwanted amendment or a Tricky political Issue by calling for a report from the Pentagon he said. Second there Are cases where we ask for information that the military should have gathered anyhow like what Are the Cost implications of a planned program or what Are the pros and cons of alternative weapons systems. Third there Are cases where Congress is considering a course of action and seeks a Pentagon analysis in Advance. Some of the reports in these second and third categories May be justified. Fourth there Are report requests that might charitably be called Bull where Congress orders up a report not to Aid con Gressional deliberations but As a substitute for deliberations. These Are cases where Congress has no intention of doing any  Aspin said it in t Clear yet whether the increases in the size of budget backup books is a result of congressional requests or what he called the Pentagon s age old propensity to overwhelm Congress with trivia combined with a computer s ability to spew out Yards of data at the push of a Button. He noted that Barry Goldwater r-ariz., chairman of the Senate armed services committee and Sam Nunn d-ga., the ranking minority member of Goldwater s committee have said they Are concerned about the Burden Congress May be imposing on the Pentagon. With both committees pointing in the same direction i d say there s Good reason to expect some action Aspin said. Arab mayor in West Bank slain i. I of. Mail Jii Leader visits Fol Moscow Palestine group claims responsibility predicts our enemies win fair afghan Leader visits Moscow Beirut Lebanon up the popular front for the liberation of Palestine guerrilla group claimed responsibility for the killing sunday of Zafer Al Masri the newly appointed mayor of the West Bank town of Nablus. A pulp statement issued in Damascus and sent to Beirut said the Radical group executed a death sentence on Masri for dealing with the zionist jordanian reactionary plan aimed at liquidating the palestinian  the group which is based in the syrian capital and headed by or. George Habash said Masri was executed sunday by the Che Guevara group operating inside the occupied  he was shot several times in the heart. The statement said his killing was a Clear explicit warning to any  the pulp with this execution reminds that anyone who attempts to Deal with this surrender St scheme will meet the same Fate As this traitor did whatever Protection he might get from the zionist occupation authorities. Our struggle for attaining our right to self determination and establishment of our Independent state will continue despite the plots of the jordanian regime and its hirelings and irrespective of hardships and difficulties the pulp said. In Jerusalem prime minister Shimon Peres condemned the assassination but vowed to press ahead with efforts to appoint Arab mayors to cities in the occupied territories. His murder is a blow to the inhabitants of the Territo Ries and to All those who look Forward to Progress in reach ing stability and understanding Peres was quoted As telling a weekly Cabinet meeting. Peres also said the killing will not deter Israel from trying to help the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza to administer their own affairs Cabinet Secretary Yossi Beilin said. But israeli officials acknowledged Al Makri s death would damage chances for finding Arab leaders willing to accept israeli appointments. It will have a detrimental affect on those plans communications minister Amnon Rubinstein said. Israel jails accused death Camp Kiffer Jerusalem up a judge sunday ordered Ivan John Demjan Juk who is accused of killing hundreds of thousands of jews in a nazi death Camp held in prison for 15 Days. Judge Aharon Simha president of the Jerusalem magistrates court issued the order during a 37-minute hear ing in a makeshift courtroom. Demjan Juk 65, a ukrainian born former Ohio Auto worker is the first suspected nazi War criminal to be extradited to Israel by the United states. He was flown to Tel Aviv Friday. Under israeli Law Demjan Juk can be held up to 60 Days in prison without being formally charged. Demjan Juk is accused of having been a sadistic Gas chamber operator during world War ii in the Treblinka death Camp in nazi occupied Poland. Former inmates of the Camp said he was called Ivan the  in the years 1942 and 1943, the suspect served with the is forces at the Treblinka death Camp said Dennis Gouldman head of the International Section of the state attorney s department in his request that Demjan Juk be held without bail. During this period the suspect would Force the victims of the nazi persecution into the Gas Chambers erected in the extermination area of the Treblinka Camp. After the doors of the Chambers had been closed the suspect would operate the engine which sent exhaust fumes Carbon monoxide into the Chambers. In this Way the victims were choked to death Gouldman said. Gouldman also charged that Demjan Juk killed jews in the Camp with his own  he told the court which sat in the canteen turned courtroom of the Jerusalem police Headquarters that Mark o Connor a . Lawyer would Fly to Israel soon to determine whether he could represent Demjan Juk. Demjan Juk is expected to be formally charged under Israel s 1950 War crimes legislation. If convicted he could be sentenced to death. Moscow a afghan president Babrak Karmal says More rebels Are joining his troops and our enemies will fail but he declined to forecast when the War might end. Karmal in Moscow for the 27th communist party con Gress held a news conference and answered questions about the six year old War. The soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan in de Cember 1979 to help the marxist government Battle anti communist rebels and it is estimated that 115,000 soviet military personnel Are now operating in that country. 8 picketers arrested in London at Murdoch newspaper Plant London a police arrested eight people during the sixth straight weekend of mass picketing at Rupert Murdoch s High technology newspaper printing Plant in East London. Tony Dubbins a Leader of the 5,500 workers fired by Murdoch s news International ltd., said that Between 3,000 and 5,000 men and women were outside the Plant and that they delayed the departure of trucks with the sunday times and news of the world weeklies for 2 hours. A company spokesman said that there were no delays and that several convoys of trucks left the Plant with newspapers. Rematch for chess championship to be held in London Leningrad Lucerne Switzerland a the rematch be tween world chess Champion Garri Kasparov and former titleholder Anatoly Karpov will be split Between London and Leningrad .s.r., with the first game july 28 in London the International chess federation has announced. The first half of the rematch is to be organized by the British chess federation and after 12 games the match will move to Leningrad where tournament play will be overseen by the soviet chess federation said a news re lease from the International chess federation. The possibility to organize the entire match in London did not materialize the International federation said without giving details