to eviltechie:
I'm a DEP (Delayed Entry Personel) recruit for the US Army, and my job is Patriot Missile Enhanced Operator/Maintainer. In short, I make the missiles work and ready to fire. The Patriot missle is a continuous rod warhead, with proximity fuses. It does not require a hit with the enemy weapon in order to destroy it. As for the A&E special, I will admit I haven't seen it, but since you think the government lies about weapons (as well they should), how much do you think the media really knows about them? For example, in order to even begin your training on the missile system, you must qualify for a Secret security clearance. If you want an instance in which the Patriot did it's job, and very well, I might add, look to the downing of the British Tornado fighter during the (most recent) war in Iraq. Granted, that was an allied plane, but it's IFF transmitter had failed, disallowing it to braodcast as an ally. The Patriot saw an 'enemy' contact and launched accordingly, so it did it's job. Don't get me wrong, I feel bad for the pilot(s) and the families, but that's my example. (Any one feel free to correct any mistakes I made)