Rasor, Dina. The Pentagon Underground. New York: Times Books, 1985. 310 pages.

In 1979 Dina Rasor, 23, started a job with the National Taxpayers Union, where she researched cost overrun issues with the Lockheed C-5 transport plane. In early 1981 she struck out on her own with modest funding, and started the Project on Military Procurement. The problems with the M-1 tank were her first project, but coffee brewers for the C-5 that cost $7622 got more attention. She interviewed Pentagon whistle-blowers, received guidance from A. Ernest Fitzgerald, developed numerous contacts in the press, and within a couple of years became one of the most visible people in the country on the topic of waste and fraud in the Pentagon.

The Project on Military Procurement was two people, Rasor and an assistant, working out of a tiny office. It was strictly nonpartisan and nonideological, interested only in better value for the taxpayer and better weapons for the military. The funding came from both libertarian and progressive sources. It helped that Rasor was squeaky clean. All of her research was backed up with unclassified documents -- she wouldn't touch anything that was classified, nor chat with the occasional friendly "diplomat" from the Soviet embassy. Rasor's visibility and professionalism provided an option for frustrated Pentagon workers, by allowing the whistle-blower "underground" to expose waste and fraud without retaliation.
ISBN 0-8129-1249-7

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