WHAT ONE TERRORIST RECALLED

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100270031-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 28, 2011
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: June 26, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/12/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100270031-1
5
r
_
REED IRVINE
D
What one
terrorist
recalled
The lead story in The Wash-
ington Post of June 15
reported the murder of Rob-
ert Stethem, the young Navy
petty officer who was killed by the
hijackers of TWA Flight 847 and
dumped on the tarmac at the Beirut
airport. The post said the control
tower operator asked, "Isn't it a
shame killing an innocent passen-
ger?"
The story then said: " 'Did you for-
get the Bir a! Abed massacre?' the
hijacker replied, referring to the
March 8 car bombing in a suburb of
Beirut that killed more than 80
Shi'ite Moslems. Shi'ites have
accused the U.S. Central Intelli-
gence A ency of being behind the
bombing, which the CIA has denied"
What a as ington osttd'idn't
remind its readers was that on May
12, 1985, it had carried as its lead
story, with a banner headline across
the top of Page 1. a report that the
March 8 car bombing had been car-
rie out v a counterterrorist-unit
trained and supported by the CIA.
The story, written by Bob Wood-
ward and Charles Babcock,
describe it as "a runaway mission
"
carried out by individuals who acted
without CIA authorization. The
headline on the story read: "Anti-
terrorist Plan Rescinded After
Unauthorized Bombing."
While The Post story did not itself
blame the bombing on th rIA it
described the agency as having "an
indirect connection" to it. It is little
wonder, then, that the Shiites
accused the CIA of being behind the
bombing, as The Post reported on
June 15. A month earlier, in the May
12 story, The Post had said "No one
publicly has claimed reponsibiljM
for the bombing. Some Shiites
accused the Israelis, who denied any
involvement."
Government officials and intelli-
gence expert, wer Annalled by the
irresponsibility of The Post story
charging the CIA with even an indi
t'ecicQnnection with th bombing.
WASHINGTON TIMES
26 June 1935
One official said: "The Washing-
ton Post has put the lives of every
American in Lebanon in jeopardy.
... I find it utterly contemptible....
It invites retaliation against every
American in Beirut, including
women and children. The Post did
that with foreknowledge of that pos-
sibilty. They were warned" After the
story appeared, the State Depart-
ment issued an alert to U.S. diplo-
mats abroad warning of new
terrorist threats.
Unless the hijackers of TWA 847
and those who planned the operation
decide to tell their story, we will
never know for sure whether or not
this deed was inspired in whole or in
part as retribution for the Bir al
Abed bombing. But that is certainly
what the remark of one of the hijack-
ers after the murder of Mr. Stethem
suggests. The hijackers demanded
the release of Shi'ite prisoners held
by Israel, and it is logical to suppose
that this was also one of the motives.
But_ the selection of an American
target and the cold-blooded beating
and mur er o an American service_
man would seem to validate the fears
expresse ~t at government o i-
cial in the wake of The ry
indirectly connecting the CIA to Bir
al Abed.
If the nice people who run The
Washington Post ever think about
such things, they must now be won-
dering, deep down in the innermost
reaches of their minds, whether the
death of Robert Stethem and the
agony of the hostages and their fam-
ilies might have been averted if only
they had not published that May 12
story. It appeared only two days after
Katharine Graham, the chairman of
the board of The Washington Post
Co., had defended the publication of
such stories.
Responding to a question at the
annual shareholders' meeting, Mrs.
Graham said: "You really have to tell
your readers everything you know
that is of valid news interest." No
doubt the CIA effort to set up coun-
terterrorist units abroad was of
news interest. But wasn't it also of
news interest that there are indica-
tions that the publication of this
story led to the hijacking and Robert
told Stethem's
nd Post has not
safe bet
that it never will.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/12/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100270031-1