European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 6, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes columns Anthony Lewis it s time Reagan others admit Airbus mistake in its commitment to truth the Pentagon investigation into the iranian airline disaster has gone a Long Way toward redeeming the Honor of the unite states. Not Many countries would examine the performance of their own armed forces in such an incident with the Candor of this investigation s reported find Ings. There is now a question of Honor for High american officials among them president Reagan vice presi Dent George Bush and adm. William j. Crowe  defended the shooting Down of the plane on grounds glibly asserted that cannot be  they face the truth will they accept responsibility Crowe the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff briefed the press in Washington after the missile Cruiser Vincennes shot Down the Iran air Airbus on july 3. He said the Captain and Crew of the Vincennes had thought the Large civilian Airliner was an f-14 fighter. The suspect aircraft was outside the prescribe commercial air corridor Crowe said. Asked How far outside he said four to five  that was not True. The Airbus was Well within the commercial corridor when hit by the Vin Cennes missile. More importantly Crowe continued the plane was headed for the Vincennes at High Speed approximately 450  that was not True either. The Pentagon inquiry reportedly says the computerized records of the Vin Cennes itself show that the Airbus was travelling much More slowly. Another assertion was that the plane was descending toward the Vincennes in what a . Official called an attack  president Reagan said on july 4 we re talking about an incident in which a plane on radar was observed coming in the direction of a ship in combat and the plane began lowering its  the Airbus was not descending. It was not at 7,500feet, As the first Pentagon statements had it but at 12,000 and about to climb to its assigned Altitude of14,000 feet. That is a partial list of the mistaken assertions of fact made in Washington. Just As serious were omis Sions of fact. For one it was a regularly scheduled flight Iran air655. It was listed in a printed schedule of commercial flights that some . Warships in the persian Gulf had aboard. The Vincennes Crew either did t have the schedule or did t look at it. Also omitted from the official . Accounts was the fact that there were regular radio Calls Between the James j. Kilpatrick our Aegis computer at by either am iranian ,.the .0ut secant c0nfirr, i to our activate the emergency i Airbus and Iran s air controllers in English from take off to destruction. The Vincennes could Monitor those Calls which would have shown beyond doubt that twas a regular civilian flight. Then there was the unworthy argument that Ira was responsible because its air controllers should have kept planes away from an area of the persian Gulf where a minor naval firefight had occurred minutes earlier. Of course there was no reason to think civilian air controllers knew anything about the naval incident. Bush took this line at the United nations on july14. They allowed a civilian aircraft loaded with Pas sengers he said to proceed on a path Over a warship engaged in Battle. That was irresponsible and a  blame the victim. Through the month of july official . Voices kept saying that it was Iran s fault. As late As july 27 last week adm. Carlisle . Trost the chief of naval operations said that shooting Down the plane was unequivocally the right thing to  the official investigation reportedly rejects All those defences. It finds that the Vincennes shot Down the Airbus because its Crew under the stress of first com Bat thought the plane was threatening and then mis read the radar to support that error. It is not at All unusual for nations to Wax indignant and jingoistic when they make tragic mistakes. Soviet officials did so when their fighter shot Down the korean Airliner in 1983, and Reagan made it worse by insisting they had known it was a civilian plane. But How much better it would be if leaders would wait forthe facts instead of stirring up hatred. Reagan eschewed jingoism when he decided to offer compensation to the families of the iranians killed. That was Wise and not easy in the face of americans anger at Iran. It will take even More courage for Reagan an the others to say now that however inadvertently they misled the country and the world about what happened and to say that the tragedy was the responsibility of the United states. New York times subsidies for Small airports Don t make sense subsidies abound in the Federal budget some Large some Small. A few of them make a certain rough sense. The school lunch program for example May plausibly promote the general welfare. But Many subsidies Long ago outlived their original purpose and among these none is More difficult to defend than the program known As essential air service. The program began with airline de regulation in 1978. It was supposed to expire in 10 years. The idea was to protect Small cities from loss of passenger service during a transition period until Market forces could take Over. It was a dubious idea to begin with and it has improved with age. Last december Over the protest of the Reagan administration Congress renewed the program for another 10 years. At current Levels that Means that taxpayers will put up roughly a Quarter of a billion dollars Over the next decade to subsidize a relative handful of airline passengers in 135 cities from Lewiston Maine to Merced Calif. The program i absurd. Consider from Kokomo ind., it is Only 53 Miles Down route 31 to Indiana Polis. It is about the same distance in Kansas from Hutchinson to Wichita. Out in Arizona no one would think it a terrible imposition to drive from Winslow to Flagstaff in order to catch a plane. Yet this year Kokomo will get $355,000, Hutchinson $176,000 an Winslow $203,000 just to accommodate a few travellers who find an hour s drive to an Airport an intolerable Burden upon their time. Roughly 135 communities share Inthis largess that Falls from congressional skies. In some instances an arguable Case May be made for Federal Aid. Twenty nine of the subsidized communities Are in Alaska. In the Remote reaches of Nebraska Montana and the Dakotas such cities As Chadron Glasgow and Williston May have a claim for assistance. Elsewhere the justification is distressingly Flimsy. Why must the taxpayers put up $209,000 a year to subsidize an aver age of two passengers a Day in Lewiston Maine the Hub Airport at Portland served by eight carriers is Only 35 Miles away. From Jonesboro ark., it is Only an hour s drive to Memphis. From hot Springs it s an easy run to Little Rock. No defensible reason supports Airport subsidies for these cities yet Jonesboro and hot Springs Are Down for $398,000 each in the current year. On average they will enplaned maybe nine or 10 Pas sengers a Day. What s the problem with Merced Calif.? this is no Hick town. It s a thriving City in a county of 134,000 people. Fresno is not unendurable Distant. Yet Merced is on the subsidy Rolls for $316,000 a year. Take Salem Ore. On average Accord ing to the department of transportation Salem s Airport enplaned three Passen Gers a Day. Their convenience costs the Federal Treasury $183,000 a year and it s Only 47 Miles by interstate 5 to Portland. Consider some Southern comforts. Athens ga., Home of the University of Georgia is a prospering City. The same May be said of Rocky mount and Winston Salem . In Southern Virginia Danville boasts a population of nearly 50,000. These Are not poor isolated communities in the Boondocks. Athens is an easy drive from Atlanta Rocky mount is an hour away from Raleigh Winston Salem is 27 Miles from greens Boro and Danville is 46 Miles from Greensboro. Why should the four cities collect an aggregate of $533,000 a year to Benefit perhaps 60 or 70 passengers Aday All told substantially the same questions May be asked about subsidies for Alamogordo . $256,000clarksville Tenn. $307,000 and Temple Texas $425, 000. Out in the wide open spaces of the great Southwest it s no big Deal to get from Alamogordo to Elpaso. If no car Rier is interested in Temple without a subsidy perhaps Temple s passengers could drive to Waco. It s Only 34 Miles away. These outlays make no sense. In Manitowoc wis., the passenger subsidy is More than $500 a head and Green Bay is close at hand. The per passenger subsidy in Moultrie ga., runs to $317. Why must these be continued if these communities offer a profitable Market for air travel commuter airlines will provide service. If these communities cannot offer a profitable Market Why should All the nation s tax payers subsidize the few As the Federal deficit piles up sky High suppose we letdown to Earth. Universal press Syndicate