WEEK OF VIOLENCE RAISES REAGAN'S IRE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100450032-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 21, 2011
• Sequence Number: 32
• Publication Date: June 21, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Si Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21: CIA-RDP9
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WASHINGTON TIMES
21 June 1985
e*wnkof violence
By Mary Belcher
THE NMSHt OTON TIMES
President Reagan reacted quickly
and harshly yesterday to the gun-
nin .down of Americans in El Salva-
dor,claring that the limits of the
natftM's tolerance "have been
reached" and promising "appropri-
ate and proportionate" responses to
a week of violence.
Less than 24 hours after six
Americans were gunned down in a
San Salvador cafe, Mr. Reagan said,
"I believe that our actions must be
appropriate and proportionate to the
criminal acts which have been taken
against our citizens:'
The president denounced
responses of "pointless anger" But,
he said, "We also have our limits, and
our limits have been reached."
On the hostage crisis in Beirut,
administration officials said there
has been little change in the
situation, but they reasserted their
claim that Shi'ite militia leader
Nabih Berri can exercise his influ-
ence to resolve the situation.
Mr. Reagan was awakened early
yesterday morning by National
Security Adviser Robert McFarlane
with news of the Salvadoran attack,
according to White House spokes-
man Larry Speakes.
Administration officials for the
past week have been working around
the clock to resolve the hijacking of
a Tl ans World Airlines jet by Mos-
lem Shiite terrorists, who have
killed one American and still hold
more than 40 hostages.
Unnamed terrorists two days ago
bombed Frankfurt's airport, killing
three people and adding to the wave
of attacks.
Mr. Reagan called terrorism "a
war against all of civilized society."
"This is a war in which innocent
civilians are intentional victims and
our servicemen have become spe-
cific targets;' he said. "This cannot
continue."
Mr. Speakes said the president's
words "underscore the strong feel-
ing that the United States must do
more to counter terrorism."
"It means we are now drawing the
line;' Mr. Speakes said.
The president ordered the secre-
tary of state and secretary of
defense to provide "whatever assis-
tance is necessary" to El Salvador
"to find and punish the terrorists
who perpetrated this act:'
He also will speed up the delivery
of military equipment and assis-
tance to El Salvador to "prosecute
their campaign against the commu-
nist guerrillas," who the administra-
tion believes are responsible for the
San Salvador attack, he said.
The United States will not, how-
ever, use military force in El Salva-
dor, Mr. Speakes said. Instead, the
United States simply will support El
Salvador's "very strong and compe-
tent government" and "very strong
and competent military."
In Beirut, by contrast, the admin-
istration is leaving the door open to
military retaliation against the
hijackers who hold American hos-
tages.
"Our first priority is to secure the
swift and safe return of those being
held in the Middle East," Mr. Speakes
said. "What happens after that
remains to be seen"
He refused to elaborate on what
the president meant by promising
"appropriate and proportionate"
responses to acts of terrorism. He
would rather "leave it to those who
are responsible [for acts of terror-
ism] to wonder," He said.
Administration officials
denounced a press conference Mr.
Berri held yesterday in Beirut, in
wh&ch he produced - but did not
release - five of the American hos-
tages. White House spokesman Rob-
ert Sims called the press conference
a "cynical exploitation" of the
situation.
Although they contend Mr. Berri
holds the key to resolving the hos-
tage crisis, White House officials
have said they do not regard him as
part of the problem. A senior admin-
istration official refused to com-
ment about whether yesterday's
0-00965 R000100450032-0
press conference implicated Mr..
Berri in the crime.
The hijackers have demanded the
release from Israel of 700 to 800
Shi'ite prisoners, which Israel has
said it would do only if explicitly
asked by the United States. But the
administration has said it will make
no such request.
Mr. Speakes continued to deny
reports that the White House had
asked the International Red Cross to
be a negotiator in the hostage
situation.
Red Cross President Alexandre
Hay met with Mr. Reagan at the
White House yesterday afternoon
for a long-scheduled picture-taking
session, but Mr. Hay said the pres-
ident did not ask for his help.
,,We stand ready, but that is all,"
Mr. Hay said. "We are not yet
involved."
The president did tell Mr. Hay
that he would appreciate any infor-
mation the Red Cross could obtain
o'tt the condition of the hostages,
according to White House aides.
The Red Cross has requested per-
mission to visit the hostages to check
their condition, Mr. Hay said.
U.S. intelli enc provides in '-
cation of a trally directed terror-
ism plot against U.S. military
rsonnel worldwide despite recent
attacks the ense a artment
said veste y.
aware of nothing that would
indicate that there is a centralized
plot or terrorism against U.S. per-
sonnel throughout the world;' Penta-
gon spokesman Michael Burch said.
There may be branches of
terrorist organizations in several
different countries, "but, as far as a
worldwide effort, no, I don't see
that;' the assistant defense secre-
tary said.
He said he saw no connection
between the terrorist killing of four
Marines in El Salvador Wednesday
and the weekend slaying of Robert
Dean Stethem on the hijacked TWA
airliner in the Middle East, he said.
Four of the six Americans killed
in San Salvador were off-duty
Marine embassy guards. Mr.
Speakes said there are reports that
the gunmen fired their first bullets
at the guards, who were dressed in
civilian clothes.
WI1 ..i---J
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000100450032-0
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100450032-0
2.
Administration officials strongly
suspect that leftist guerrillas
launched the attack in San Salvador.
The leftists recently have made"bla-
tant threats" of such attacks in the
wake of the failure of their military
operations in the countryside, Mr.
Speakes said.
A senior administration official
said there is no evidence of Nicara-
guan involvement in the San Salva-
dor attack. But, he said, "We do know
Nicaragua has actively supported
the leftists in El Salvador who are
presumably behind this act."
The president is "satisfied" with
current CIA inieUtaence-gat ennv
o6terrorism but is always seeking to
improve those capabilities, Mi
S ea essai said.
Walter Andrews and Stephanie
Nall contributed to this article.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000100450032-0