Possessive PP “of the assisting personnel” should be Mod, not Comp (see, e.g., newsgroup-groups.google.com_FOOLED_1bf9cdc5a4c2ac48_ENG_20050904_130400-0026 in EWT dataset)
Are there arguments for “merely” as part of Mod to VP? I think “merely a subterfuge…” passes (at least one) constituency test: “Merely a subterfuge, it was not.” “*A subterfuge, it was not merely.”
I agree about "merely" according to your constituency test as well and have changed the structure accordingly, as well as fixing the other errors. Thanks!
newsgroup-groups.google.com_FOOLED_1bf9cdc5a4c2ac48_ENG_20050904_130400-0026
in EWT dataset)