European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 13, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday. March 13. 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary Mike Feinsilber Gulf Miracle has t vanquished old headaches Quot Kuwait is liberated. I 3aq�?T5 Arvis Defeated. T a Liz of a Allup the country is that seemed so troubling Back in August when Saddam Hussein came knocking is still troublesome but there a a new sense of possibility after a War that delivered Swift Victory from six months of fears. What the country seems to feel is closer to Relief than euphoria. What a Relief especially for the 43 percent of americans who according to a poll knew someone serving in the persian Gulf. For six months the country fed on Nightmare scenarios. There be enough blood. Or Hospital Beds. Or body bags. The . Forces out manned and outgunned were up against an entrenched iraqi army that excelled in Trench warfare. An army whose soldiers relished the Prospect of martyrdom. An army that used Gas and germ warfare. A what a Relief when the air War was so successful when the ground War ended in four Days. _ after a draw in Korea political assassinations at Home a defeat in Vietnam a watergate scandal that undermined democracy and a space shuttle Accident that eroded Faith in technology a americans Forte a what a Relief to have an unambiguous trip Mph leaving relatively few american Homes in mourning. Victory overwhelms All critics. Gone Are the questions about americans purpose in the Gulf whether this was a War for a cheap Oil or a jobs a As Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii Tor one moment defined i whether sanctions would have worked whether Japan and Germany c were letting americans do their fighting and dying. Political scientist Samuel Kernell of the University of California at san Diego says even faculty colleagues a a a cynical Bunch a Marvel at the Way president Bush led the people and forged an International coalition. Historians say that not since world War ii when most americans now alive were not born has the country had such a Clear Cut Success. The can do nation did it. The Victory says political scientist. Tonias Mann of the Brookings institution leaves people a More confident and competent about the country and its future a and Sheds some of the a cynicism arid sense of ineffectiveness that have been part of american society for the last couple of the trick will be to apply the sense of can do competence to the problems show cd aside in August. First the recession. But economists seem agreed that a downturn brought on by consumer worries can be reversed by a revival in conf dance. Beyond that Mann ticks off the troubles americans want addressed a a feeling the country has slipped in its ability to compete. A the qualify of schools. A the threat of crime. A the availability and Cost of health care. A Washington Post Abc news poll says an unprecedented 90 percent a bronc of Bush s performance. But Only half Welcome his handling of the Economy. Large majorities think the country is not making enough Progress Oil the deft Cit poverty crime illegal drugs health care the Economy education or the environment. Kernell says democrats might As Well realize that in 1992 be running just for the exercise. Bush enjoying an Opportunity Given few presidents so late into a term has the Chance to translate popularity into solutions. Indeed he has political capital to squander. For years people have asked Why a country that could put men on the Moon teach its Young fix its potholes or out Toyota Japan. Now they can update the question. They can ask whether the country that used its will a a manpower and technology in a War 6,500 Miles away can lick its peacetime problems. A what a Relief to come Home to these old Piess writer Mike Foi Silbor has v events in Washington since 1968. Quot a. William Safir Patriot s kills May have been mostly Flash the Patriot missile batteries a hailed As the technological Star of our persian Gulf Victory a mayor May not have stopped incoming scud warheads. ,. Hold on now a How can that be we saw with our own eyes time and again on our television screens the fearsome Duel in the skies. The scud appeared the patriots streaked up a Zap the explosion lit up the sky and the world breathed its Relief at the Marvel of our missile defense. A forty two scuds engaged 41 intercepted a president Bush told proud workers at the Plant producing the patriots. His televised visit at the wars Halfway Point delivered an unmistakable message the terror weapon Saddam Hussein aimed at civilians which was designed to panic saudis and draw Israel into the War was being effectively countered by space age american technology a a a v. A ,. The presidents statistics were accurate but his message is subject to Challenge. ,. The interceptions a those great midair explosions that thrilled us All did not in Many and perhaps most cases Stop the scuds from delivering their payload of High explosives. Gen. Colin Powell the next Day was to Back away from the impression the president had left. The Patriot a does no to always get a catastrophic kill As a result of an he explained a sometimes it the scud Breaks up and so you have had where the warhead has landed and gone _ sometimes the scud warheads May have landed most of the time. J. / the Patriot interceptions made a lot of noise Anu fireworks but May not often have hit their targets on the destructive nose. If so what did the patriots hit fuel tanks. Most scuds began to break up on reentry into the atmosphere about 7 to 9 Miles in the air. This has been derogated As a sign of poor iraqi adaptation of the soviet built missile but at that dropping stage the warhead no longer needs the fuel tank the explosive payload is Well on its Way to the general target area. A a a a a. A. A. Coincidentally that height is where the Patriot missile approaches the scud at a combined Speed of .6,000 Mph and explodes supposedly blowing up the warhead in a a catastrophic kill a or a warhead but too Many of the patriots attacked the larger target a the detached fuel tank a making a satisfying bang while the untouched warhead continued Down and slammed Home. Our military misleadingly called such useless Contact a Mission kills on the theory that the explosion might have deflected the warhead from its intended target. But that explanation does not add up. If a warhead is targeted at a wide area of 5v Square Miles As the inaccurate scuds Are what does it matter if the warhead is knocked off course a mile or two it does the same Ter ror damage it was intended to do but on a cd fee rent neighbourhood. By wars end the iraqis launched about 85 scuds. Estimates vary but 10 hit Israel before the patriots arrived about 25 veered off into the israeli or saudi desert or into the drink. According to executives at Raythelon the patriots builder 50 scuds were engaged and 49 intercepted. The scud that hit . Barracks in Riyadh was somehow not engaged id say 160 patriots were lived most of which self destructed. How Many of the claimed intercepts were real kills of warheads not just fuel tank hits or sides ipes Rathe on a Walter Trainor Patriot program manager said a a Small number of scud warheads came through a nowhere near the that Rosy assessment May reflect self interest just As an opposite assessment May reflect israeli commercial interest in producing the Arrow anti missile missile a coming competitor to the Patriot. The payload is the payoff did the patriots hit the scuds Early enough to prevent a rain of destruction no. Did that rain often contain scud warheads yes. A there has been a dispute about what part of the missile was hit a said a High administration official noting in passing that the Fina warhead was a Concrete the saudis have not been All that forthcoming publicly. But clearly the Patriot was an asset and absolutely vital in keeping Israel out of the War a psychology triumphed Over technology. Why did the scud a terror weapon that delivered a Many of its warheads fail to terrorize the ironic reason the Patriot even if investigators find it failed in its military Mission to kill warheads averted saudi panic and israeli need for reprisal by providing a false sense of Security. C new York times the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government
