STRATEGIC DEFENSE STUDY SHOULD NOT BE HINDERED

This is an unusual year for America's defensive capabilities to come under domestic attack. The showing of United States military expertise in the Persian Gulf was exemplary, practically flawless. Yet the worst enemy of these forces might prove to be our own Congress, which is aiming at making extreme cuts in defense, particularly in Strategic Defense Initiative funding. While we concede the need for bringing the federal budget under control, we balk at the notion of significantly trimming such an important element of our defensive strength.

In its recent defense authorization legislation, the U.S. House of Representatives included deep cuts in the administration's requested funding for SDI research. An American intelligence agency has indications that by the end of this decade, 15 developing nations will have ballistic missiles; with technology as an equalizer in weaponry, these missiles will have increased range, accuracy and killing power.

Very fresh in the American consciousness is the reality of a despot with nuclear capability. In the Persian Gulf War, we learned that Saddam Hussein was capable of any atrocity and, had the allied forces not acted quickly to inhibit Iraq's ability to launch its most dangerous weapons, American fighting forces might have been faced with a nuclear or chemical calamity.

In a deluge of successful military effort in the Middle East, nothing shined more than the American Patriot missiles. These missiles, which intercepted almost all Iraqi Scud missiles before they reached their targets, saving countless lives, were built on the Strategic Defense System foundation. The concept was sound and the technology worked. Let's continue to expand the idea and broaden the protection this defensive system provides.

SDI does not pose a threat to world peace, as the Soviets and some congressional critics claim. In fact, evidence exists that the Soviet Union has spent more on developing a space defense umbrella than the United States has. With the enhanced deterrence this system would provide, the United States would be less likely not more to become engaged in international conflict because of the futility of an enemy's first-strike in the face of this protection. And if ballistic missiles end up in dangerous hands, Americans will sleep better knowing this protection is out there.

Let's keep a good thing going. Let's make technology work for the United States and make the Saddam Husseins of the world race to catch up. Strategic Defense Initiative research should continue.