European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 7, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday Juno 7, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 6 Crowe says it May Cost More lives to keep persian Gulf Oil lanes open Washington a the Navy can Back up presi Dent Reagan s Promise to keep persian Gulf Oil lanes open but the Price could be More american lives the chairman of the join chiefs of staff said Friday adm. William j. Crowejr. Also old he Senate armed services committee that the Pentagon would be faced with difficult choices if ran decides to attack american ships or Kuwait tankers lying american flags Crowe declined to say publicly what those choices might be but promised to talk about them m a closed door meeting of the panel. At the Pentagon meantime officials said one of Many contingency options being studied is a pre Emp Tive strike against silkworm anti ship missiles Pur chased by Iran from China. But the officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said experts Don i support a pre emotive strike and Don t think it is  Crowe s comments were his first Public statements to Congress since Reagan pledged last month to use . Military Force to keep the Gulf through which passes much of the Oil used by the West open. Reagan promised to put . Flags and captains aboard kuwaiti Ankers. Crowe noting that Kuwait is an ally of Iraq in the 6a year old Iran Iraq War said the . Move will raise the stakes. Congressional fears have been heightened in the Wake of the iraqi missile attack on the . Frigate Stark which killed 37 sailors. Iraq said the attack was a mistake and Crowe said he agrees. Concerning Reagan s Promise to protect the Kuwait tankers Crowe said he believe that we can carry out this  of course he added there Are no absolute guarantees that such an operation will be casualty free or that Iran will not escalate the sea War which will pre sent us with further difficult choices. On the other hand he said we have the capability to keep the Oil line to Kuwait open to assure our Arab friends four commitment and to keep the risks  adm. William a Crowejr. During testimony. As for the possibility of iranian attacks Crowe said the iranians have the same capabilities they did month ago before the Stark attack raised . Aware Ness of he dangers in the area. Since the Stark attack we have not As yet seen an change in iranian conduct at sea he said in fact they appear to be even More cautious than previously. While this situation could change quickly i would suggest that we base our judgments and actions on tangible evidence rather than on  the Gulf is not a no Man s land Crowe said. In fact it is still a thriving and bustling commercial  in he three years since Iran and Iraq have targeted tankers less than i percent of the ships moving through the waterway have been attacked Crowe said and no Large ships have been sunk. It is important to keep in mind the environment in the Gulf and not to be stampeded by Overly dramatic accounts he said. Crowe did not mention inc silkworm missiles which could threaten ships moving through the Strait of Hor Muz at the Mouth of the Gulf. The missiles have a Range of about so Miles and . Military officials have worried that the weapons could be used against Navy ships or re flagged kuwaiti tankers passing by. One official at the Pentagon said a preemptive strike against the missiles might involve a major attack on Iran. These missiles Are Mobile said the source they Don t need fixed batteries. They can be set up relatively rapidly what Are you going to strike the entire military base where they might be stored after hearing Crowe behind closed doors sen. Sam Nunn doa the armed services committee chair Man said the silkworm military threat is one of the chief concerns we  As for a preemptive strike Nunn said that s a matter we should not be declaring our intentions on one Way or the other. It seems to me the iranians would certainly be increasing the threat to the Region and to free transportation if they deploy those silk Worms in the area of the  speaking of the attack on the Stark Crowe was indirectly critical of the frigate s operation. In my View the ship had the weapons systems and sensors to put up a credible defense but Why they were not brought into play is a proper subject for a forma investigation he said. As you know such an investigation is now in train suit seeks to protect veterans who lose Homes Seattle a a class action Law suit seeks to Black the veterans administration from collecting millions of dollars from veterans who were unable to meet payments on a guaranteed Home Loans. The suit was filed thursday in Federal court on behalf of Washington state Veter ans. It follows an april court Victory by a Veteran who lost his Home in a Seattle sub Urb in 1982 because he could not make pay ments on a a go ranted loan. In the april 3 decision . District judge John Coughenour ruled that the a violated Washington state Law when it Pur sued Rudy Vallejo for 18,700 in additional payments after scaling his Home. The Vas ought the Money because resale of the Home did not cover the amount Vallejo had been or