When I worked in the DC area I observed many gyrations by politicians in order to enable them to take credit privately for their actions and avoid blame publicly for those same actions.

Thus, there are people in the Pentagon who job it is to examine the Congressional language in the appropriations and authorization bills and figure out what they Really Meant.

And they always got it wrong, or at least some of it.

So “Upgrade the only suitable land missile range.” meant “Buy the University of Alaska a new office building/solarium.” There was no way to know that unless you had been let in on the scam.