European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 9, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes saturday july 9,1988 William Safire our next Leader May be tested like copt. Rogers _ a 1 _4.l -. Tk.2. /""1f it no half Lyl Al in armed services Slang the pucker Factor is the stress that afflicts human beings on full Alert. If the Factor is missing the person reacts like a robot numb to sensitizing tension if the Factor is too High the person crumples or puckers in panic. Moments after an engagement with iranian boats the Captain of the Cruiser Vincennes made a decision to shoot Down an unidentified aircraft he had reason to believe was menacing his ship. As the plane approached ignoring repeated warn Ings and reportedly sending conflicting signals the naval officer must have thought of the Fate of the Frig ate Stark in those Waters last year 37 american sailors dead the unwary Captain dismissed. Every 10 seconds brought the unknown aircraft a mile closer. If the plane was hostile his ship had Al ready come within the attacker s missile Range if the ship s most appropriate defensive missile was to be fired he had to give the order now. Capt. Will Rogers gave the order 290 passengers aboard a civilian Airliner died the president of the . Apologized. Some military second guesses say he should have waited until the suspected attacker turned on its firing radar and then gambled on being Able to hit the plane in the seconds before its missile was launched. Others say that if he went by the Book the Captain should have fired minutes before the aircraft became such a direct presumed threat. Unfair judgments. When we demand that courageous men make life or death decisions on imperfect information we cannot with Hindsight condemn them Mary Mcgrory for the consequences. In the same Way political second guesses Are saying this proves we should never have been in the persian Gulf in the first place. In one stroke we killed More iranians than the israelis killed arabs in the six months of the Intifada should t this Burden us with guilt no. Sorrow is the proper reaction not guilt responsibility lies with the nation that started the War Iraq and the nation that grimly demands Victory