SPEAKOUT

SOMEBODY'S WRITING IN Speak Out bragging about Peter Kinder showing himself to be a master of politics. Well, I've got news for the writer. President Reagan's star wars were not any connection with the patriot missiles. They were brought into use, or they were discovered in 1960 and Reagan was no where near office at that time. Thank you.

I SEE BACKBITING, I-told-you-so Peter Kinder is at it again in his editorial talking about SDI. SDI, I thought, was star wars that Reagan pushed so much. And I got news for him. The Patriot missile was not during Reagan's administration or even thought of then. It was in the '60s. Peter Kinder ought to get a few facts straight. SDI was mostly connected with star wars and that was in outer space. That was not launching a rocket from a battle ship or even launching a rocket from the ground. I thank you.

The callers are right about the obligation we all share to get our facts straight, but unfortunately, theirs are all twisted. Where to begin? Well, let's see. A fact sheet detailing the missile's history, published by Raytheon Corp., maker of the missile, says funding for Patriot began in 1972 (not "in the '60s", as the caller claims), and continued through the mid-'70s, from the Nixon-Ford years into the Carter administration. For the first 10 or more years of its development, the Patriot was an anti-aircraft missile. Its capabilities were upgraded to include anti-missile defense during the last decade.

A Wall Street Journal news article this week had this to say: "... And the Patriot missile, which has been dazzling in knocking down Iraqi Scud missiles, is Mr. Reagan's baby, not Mr. Carter's. The Patriot limped along with technical glitches during the Carter years, and didn't really get going until the Reagan era, when it was brought on line in quantity and given the capability to attack incoming missiles as well as attacking planes ... The Democratic Congress tried to kill the Patriot (though then-House Speaker Tip O'Neill lobbied for the Massachusetts-made weapon)." The same article quotes Carter administration Defense Secretary Harold Brown as saying, "When it comes to the size of the force and putting in the money to buy the weapons and train the force, the Reagan administration deserves the credit."

(By the way, my column contained no reference to President Reagan, so I'm somewhat puzzled by the callers' attacks along those lines. But I'm happy to address the points raised for the record).

If the callers want more, I have a growing file on the subject, and would be happy to share it with them. Also, see my column today on Page 12 A, where I discuss some of this further. PDK.