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• Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, as the Democrat leadership of this House considers whether to order an investigation of the so-called `October Surprise,' they would do well to read a letter printed in today's Washington Times.

• Rear Adm. Frank C. Collins, Jr, USN, Retired, was the chief U.S. Navy adviser to the Shah of Iran during the turbulent period from April 1978 to February 1979. When he was in Tehran, the Shah himself was overthrown, and the Ayatollah Khomeini returned from his exile in France to take power and lay the groundwork for 52 Americans to be taken hostage in November 1979.

• Rear Admiral Collins brings certain expertise to the situation--expertise which is clearly lacking in the partisan bickering which motivates this proposed `October Surprise' investigation

• I would like his letter, printed in the November 26, 1991, issue of the Washington Times, to be entered into the permanent Record of this House.

It was indeed interesting to read your Nov. 18 piece `October hoax or cover-up?' on Gary Sick. The Democratic Congress is now considering spending more of the taxpayer's money on investigating his so-called `October Surprise' hoping to embarrass President Bush and former President Reagan, whom Mr. Sick claims negotiated the delay of return of the hostages until after the November 1980 elections. The timing of the article was ironic in view of the news last night that Terry Waite and Tom Sutherland had been released and their captors announced that the remainder of the hostages would be released by the end of the month. It appears that Mr. Sick's `October Surprise' is another desperate attempt by former members of president Carter's staff to atone for the poor job they did in preventing the fall of the Shah and loss of Iran as a friend and ally in that very critical part of the world. There is little question that had the Shah been supported by the Carter administration, neither the initial 1979 hostages nor the current ones would have been taken. Further, Saddam Hussein would have been less inclined toward his adventure in Kuwait, and there is even a possibility that Mr. Carter might have been re-elected.

As one who was in Iran during the critical period 1978-79, I still find it difficult to understand the proliferation of books on that period by people who were not in that theater.

The Democratic leadership would be well advised to consider the mood of the U.S. taxpayer regarding the $28 million-plus spent by special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh without result before they begin another witch hunt, which I can guarantee will backfire: Rear Adm. F.C. Collins, Jr., U.S. Navy, retired, Alexandria.

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