European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 18, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday june 18,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3infighting hangs up dragon ii test by Dan Morgan the Washington Post Washington a the backroom Battle on Capitol Hill Over medium Range anti tank weaponry is a rare one in which principle plays More of a role than pork barrel politics. The principle in this Case is the safety and fighting effectiveness of infantrymen in Battle. The main Issue is whether the army should conduct a competitive test of its dragon ii infantry anti tank missile against two foreign made alternatives Sweden a boors Bill missile and the French German Milan ii. Until recently the army had resisted such a test. The army wants to continue developing a sophisticated new generation anti tank weapon called Laws a and fears that a test of the dragon ii would show that the boors Bill and Milan 2 Are Superior weapons that the Pentagon could deploy quickly to army and Marine infantry divisions. Army and congressional supporters of the advanced missile believe that if such a deployment occurs budget cutting pressure will postpone or kill Laws a. But rep. Charles e. Bennett d-fla., a member of the House armed services committee and a former world War ii infantryman thinks the dragon ii is a dangerously inferior weapon that should be tested. Aides say Bennett has no Faith in the dragon ii even though the warhead is made by Mcdonnell Douglas corp. Near his Home District in North Florida. The most passionate House advocate of the Laws a is also a former infantryman a rep. Les Aucoin Dore. And a member of the appropriations defense subcommittee. He opposes the the dragon test for the same reasons As the army. Laws a or the anti Armor weapons system medium is being developed by Texas instruments inc. And Martin Marietta corp. Aucoin a advocacy has caused some raised eyebrows in Congress. In 1988, he received a $1,000 honorarium from Texas instruments. However Aucoin wrote defense Secretary Dick Cheney an unusual letter that said in part a my Only preference is that subcontracts for the Laws a not be placed in Oregon so that i can continue to Deal with this program without parochial  Brussels Belgium apr about 2,300 weekend soldiers in period costumes marched Back in time sunday to restate Napoleons last stand the 1815 Battle of Waterloo. There was much smoke but no fire As they redid the Battle on the site where Napoleons Grande Armee of 70,000 suffered its final defeat by More than 100,000 British dutch belgian German and prussian troops Allied under the Duke of Wellington. Sundays ranks featured history buffs of All Ages from the victorious countries As Well As France the United states Canada and even the soviet Union organizers said. At least 80,000 spectators lined the Battlefield and sat on the Butte do lion a 130-foot Mound topped by a lion overlooking the farmlands near Waterloo today a Brussels suburb where Napoleon lost his Empire. They watched soldiers in 19th-Century uniforms on foot and horseback moving across Grassy knolls wielding muskets sabres and military banners. The sound of Cannon fire fifes Drums and bagpipes tilled the air As the soldiers moving shoulder to shoulder repeated the events of june 18, 1815. The Battle has been restated in previous years under the auspices of the British Napoleonic society which even supplies a Napoleon and a Duke of Wellington. But sundays show was to Mark the real events Bulgaria holds Sofia up a Bulgaria held the second and final round of its first free elections since world War ii sunday with the former communist party expected to gain an absolute majority in the grand National Assembly. Voting was held in 81 constituencies where no candidate had won the necessary majority in the first round june 10, the first multiparty elections in 44 years. By 2 p.m., seven hours after the polls opened 54.3 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots the the dragon ii is a dangerously inferior weapon that should be tested. A rep. Charles e. Bennett another key actor in this drama is Robert m. Sherman an author of More than 30 articles on defense and arms control. He first became interested in a new generation a tank breaker being developed by the defense department while he was working for rep. Thomas j. Downey d-n.y., in the Early 1980s. When he moved to Aucoin a staff he had no trouble interesting the former infantryman. Aucoin soon emerged As the most persistent House Spur to the army a development of a Light missile capable of destroying heavily armoured enemy tanks without exposing the attacker. In 1989, the army chose the Texas instruments system Over two others. The existing wire guided dragon system forced the attacking infantryman to hold his sights on the tank until Impact. The new system allowed the attacker to a fire and forget and then to head for cover As the missile homed in on the vulnerable top of the tank using sophisticated software and the tanks infrared heat emissions to guide it. Bennett a push to test the dragon ii against its european competitors is backed by other key defense democrats including reps. Charles Wilson and Marvin Leath of Texas George a a buddy Darden of Georgia and Dave Mccurdy of Oklahoma. All reportedly support Laws a but disagree with Aucoin that dragon ii should used by the service until Laws a is available. That they say would jeopardize infantry lives if War should erupt. Recently they be been getting Tough. At a meeting with it. Gen. Donald s. Pihl in the office of the assistant Secretary of the army for research development and acquisition they demanded that the service test the dragon ii Side by Side with boors Bill and Milan 2 As required by the 1990 defense authorization act. 175th anniversary. Among the spectators was the current a and eighth a Duke of Wellington lord Arthur Valerian Wellesley. The festivities began saturday with a Light and sound show and fireworks at the manmade Butte do lion. The Battle of Waterloo is also commemorated in a number of exhibitions in belgian museums and in the farmhouses that served As Battlefield command posts and Headquarters during the fighting. Sundays Battle was broadcast live on a Tbs Belgium a French language television network. The 90-minute re enactment showed soldiers firing and a a dying in the Fields that Roll toward the French Border 30 Miles away. Of course Napoleon lost again. After his first defeat in 1814, Napoleon went to the Mediterranean Island of Elba. He returned to Mainland France on March 20, 1815, rounded up an army and set out to fight the allies in Belgium and regain his Empire whose roots Lay in the French revolution of 1789. The real Battle lasted a Day and seemed made in Hollywood the bad Guy might have won if not for the last minute arrival of marshal Gebhard Lii Cher a prussian troops who turned the tide for the allies. Estimates of the dead at Waterloo Range from 12,000 to 50,000 plus 10,000  round of official news Agency Bra said. The second round results were expected to be known tuesday electoral commission Secretary Dimitar Popov said. In its sunday edition a Sofia newspaper called for the Day to be a Calm cheerful and  the paper carried an interview with a group of French parliamentarians led by Michal Coffineau vice president of the French National Assembly who As the foreign arms makers have been pushing too. In april 1989, Sweden a boors hired the Alexandria va., lobbying firm of former democratic congressman to Ginn from Georgia to press the Issue on Capitol Hill paying a retainer of $ 10,000 every three months. Ginn is a former member of the House appropriations defense subcommittee. His partner William h. Edington was Ginny a personal staff member on appropriations and has made the rounds showing a video of the boors Bill in action. Edington has made Campaign contributions to members of House defense committees and has attended fund raisers for them. Rockwell International corp., also represented by the Ginn firm has an agreement with boors to produce the missile in this country if Congress decides to buy it As an interim weapon while waiting for the Laws a. Laws a will be ready by 1993 at the earliest. On the Senate Side the army a opposition to the dragon test has been taken up by Romie l. Brownlee Deputy minority staff director of the armed services committee. His Boss sen. John w. Warner r-va., turned the Issue Over to Brownlee a retired army officer who once commanded a mechanized infantry battalion equipped with the dragon. Brownlee argues that boors Bill is too heavy and too costly an alternative to dragon ii. But those who take the army a Side in this dispute have been caught in the position of supporting a dubious weapon. A congressional research service study has said the dragon ii warhead cannot penetrate soviet Armor and scored Only one kill in 17 firings. It quoted estimates of the Institute for defense analyses that said the casualty rate for dragon gunners operating in european Battlefield conditions a would be Between 25 and 33  the defense departments office of operational test and evaluation has identified the boors Bill As a More effective weapon than the dragon ii. It was this finding that resulted in language in the defense authorization act approved last fall mandating a Side by Side test of the three systems. But the test still has not occurred it remains Hung up in bureaucratic mane vering involving Congress the Pentagon and the office of management and budget. A Home again Singer Miriam Makeba talks to admirers in Johannesburg As she ends a one week visit to her Homeland after a 30-year absence. She said Friday she would like to return to South Africa and sing her songs once again to her  elections messed the first round of voting As basically fair and free. Opposition groups have claimed that the polls were rigged and they have held several mass rallies recently in protest. After the first round the former communist party renamed the socialist party after the november ouster of former Leader Todor Zsivkov held 172 scats in the 400-member parliament. Napoleon meets his Waterloo again a on 175th anniversary