[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 2, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          A SUCCESSFUL PATRIOT

                                 ______


                      HON. WILLIAM H. ZELIFF, JR.

                            of new hampshire

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 1994

  Mr. ZELIFF. Mr. Speaker, recently, a major news correspondent, in 
commenting on the possible deployment of Patriot missile batteries to 
South Korea, set a new standard for misinformation that would fit into 
a minute's time. Errors in the press are not new to any of us and 
normally I would not take the time to put corrections into the Record. 
However, since the subjects of these errors pertain to two studies, one 
conducted by a subcommittee of which I was a member and the second a 
GAO study commissioned by that same subcommittee I feel it necessary to 
set the record straight.
  On April 7, 1992, the Legislation and National Security Subcommittee 
of the Government Operations, of which I was a member, held a hearing 
on the performance of the Patriot air defense system during the Gulf 
war. The subcommittee called the hearing largely because of criticisms 
raised by a few people in academia. I listened with great interest to 
all of the testimony that was given and was present throughout the 
entire hearing.
  I heard the Army describe how they achieved success rates of over 70 
percent in Saudi Arabia and over 40 percent in Israel against a threat 
that was beyond what the Patriot had been designed to handle. I heard 
how they assessed performance by collecting all of the data that 
existed and analyzing it according to a clear and logical method.
  I heard how our soldiers went to war with a total of only three of 
the new Patriot missiles that were capable of destroying tactical 
ballistic missiles and how American workers labored around the clock to 
produce 500 such missiles by the time hostilities started. They 
produced these well before any missiles had originally been scheduled 
to be available.
  I heard how certain unexpected characteristics of the Iraqi threat 
caused problems during the first few days, and how the ingenuity of the 
Army/industry team solved these problems by initially changing 
procedures, and within a couple of weeks, by actually changing software 
in the system--in the field and in the middle of the war.
  And I also heard expert testimony from the Congressional Research 
Service describe the case being made by the principal Patriot critic as 
``worthless''. I also heard other independent experts describe, one by 
one, all the errors contained in the critics' analysis, to the point 
where nothing was left of what the critics had claimed.
  Pehaps there is nothing newsworthy in reporting that the 
congressional report touted in the NBC News segment was not a 
congressionally approved report after all. In fact, when this report 
was presented to the U.S. House of Representatives, Government 
Operations Committee, for approval, a majority of the committee, 
Republican and Democrat, would not vote for approval. They felt, and I 
wholeheartedly agree with this assessment, that the report preparation 
was unprofessional and biased. And, most importantly, that its 
conclusions were not supported by the facts presented. Rather than face 
sure rejection, our chairman pulled this report prior to a vote. Mr. 
Speaker, as you know, such a drastic maneuver is not a frequent 
occurrence. If anything, rejection of this report by this Nation's 
elected officials is a repudiation of the claims put forward by critics 
of the Patriot system.
  Perhaps it is not news that civilian lives were spared and American 
troops were literally hugged in the streets by men, women, and children 
in Israel and Saudi Arabia for coming to protect them.
  Perhaps there is little news in the fact that American workers 
willingly labored days and nights, through weekends and holidays, to 
provide our soldiers with Patriots that didn't exist at the time Iraq 
invaded Kuwait 3 years ago and United States troops were sent to the 
region. And these workers will willingly do it again if required.
  Finally, perhaps there is nothing newsworthy in reporting that the 
American military recognized that improvements were necessary based 
upon the lessons learned from Desert Storm, and that while the critics 
were off gaining media attention with their false claims, the Army and 
American industry quietly went ahead and made those improvements.
  Maybe it is more important to ignore all the triumphs by American 
troops, American workers, and American technology so that we can pay 
false homage to a handful of self-serving critics who offer nothing 
constructive and simply try to tear down the accomplishments of others 
in order to serve their own agendas.
  But, I do not think so. I think it is the critics who should be 
ignored. I would like to thank the soldiers who went into harm's way in 
Saudi Arabia and Israel to protect against the nightly terror, and 
those in American industry who created the Patriot technology and built 
the systems that our troops used so well. You did a great job and 
should be proud of your accomplishments.

                          ____________________