The War Powers Act had been brought to the fore again by events in the Persian

Gulf: not what we now think of as the Persian Gulf War, but the latter days of the Iran-

Iraq war, which had led to attacks on shipping in the Gulf. This had led in turn to a

beefing up of the American naval presence there, and some of our ships had been fired

on. So: Should President Reagan go to Congress for permission to continue? A brisk

and informative discussion. SS: "If there's any one lesson we should have learned from

the war in Vietnam, it's that in order to sustain a military presence abroad, we need the

support of the Congress and the American people at home." WFB: "Which we didn't

have." SS: "Which we didn't have then, and which I think the President does have now,

but it's important to send that signal to our friends and foes in the region."