WHAT ONE TERRORIST RECALLED

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000807580052-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 15, 2012
• Sequence Number: 52
• Publication Date: June 26, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/15: CIA-RDP90-00965R000807580052-0
REED IRVINE
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 10ost 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 al 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-
geencce Agency of being behind the
bombin -_whic the CIA has denied."
What T e Washington Post t n't
remind its readers was that on May
12, 1985, it had carried as its lead
story, wit a banner ea ine across
the top of Pane 1. a renort r at the
March 8 car bombin had been car-
ri out v a counterterrorist unit
trained and supported by the CIA.
The story, written v o iwi-
ward and Charles Babcock,
descri it as "a runaway mission'.
carried out by individuals who a ted
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terrorist Plan Rescinded After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 the CIA- it
described the agency as having "an
indirect connection" to it. It is little
wonder, then, that th Shi'ites
accused the CIA of being behind the
bombing, as
7V _ Post reported on
June I5. A month earlier, in the May
12 story, The Post had said, "No one
publicly has claime&jP4psjbjliiY
for the bombing. Some Shiites
accused the Israelis, who denied any
involvement." Government officials and intelli-
gence experts were anoall d by the
irresponsibility of The Post story .
charging the CIA with even n resIL-Qonnectinn
WASHINGTON TIMES
26 June 1985
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-bloodg
and mur er o an Ames an service
man would seem to validate the ears
expressed __~t at overnmen o i.
cial in the wa e o e Post story
indirectly connectin the CIA o ir
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 coup
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
Stethem's death? The Post has not
told its readers that, and it's safe bet
that it never will.
The ublication of the C
endanger lives. The ubli
in ormation a ut its robabl
s uences
e aye more re~onsi collea
uture. in th
Reed Irvine is cho,rman of Accu- I
racy :n Media.
demand
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/15: CIA-RDP90-00965R000807580052-0