Banner Graphic, Volume 15, Number 251, Greencastle, Putnam County, 17 June 1985 — Page 2
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1 he Putnam County Banner-Graphic, June 17,1985
Airport officials dispute hostage removal claims
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) Shiite militia leader Nabih Berri announced today that all hostages have been removed from a hijacked TWA jet and taken to an undisclosed location in Beirut, but airport officials disputed that claim. There were believed to be more than 30 Americans still held captive for a fourth day. Berri said the action was taken for security reasons because of what he called a "possible Israeli landing" at Beirut airport. But one airport official, a member of Berri’s Amal militia, said he personally served lunch to hostages aboard the plane early this afternoon. “I took 40 chicken lunches. They (hostages) washed their hands and began eating. They were all there,” said the official, who asked not to be identified. He spoke shortly after Berri made his announcement. Several other airport officials, who declined to be identified, said none of the hostages left the plane after the release Sunday night of American Robert Peel Sr., who was ill and taken by ambulance to a west Beirut hospital. The hostages are those remaining from the 145 passengers and eight crew members, mostly Americans, aboard the TWA flight 847 that was hijacked by two Arabicspeaking men Friday morning en route from Athens to Rome. If the hostages remaining on the plane have been transferred from the aircraft, it could be that there are now two separate groups of hostages being held in Beirut. Both TWA and the White House say as
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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon was moving naval and Marine forces into the Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon today in response to the hijacking of TWA Flight 847. In addition, some of the elite antiterrorist Delta Force troops have reportedly been sent to Beirut, although Pentagon officials refused today to publicly confirm that movement. The aircraft carrier Nimitz and three escort ships canceled a
many as 12 passengers had been removed from the plane in Beirut. The hijackers’ main demand to release the hostages was that Israel free more than 700 Lebanese Shiite prisoners it holds. Berri has been involved in the negotiations for the hostages’ release and his Shiite Amal militia is the strongest armed force at Beirut airport. In Washington, a State Department official said the United States has "no reason to doubt” Berri’s statement. Berri, who is also justice minister in the government, announced the transfer at a Beirut news conference. “I have personally ordered their evacuation ... because we were afraid of an operation or a battle in which all of them would have been killed.” the Shiite
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U.S. Naval, Marine forces move into Mediterranean
scheduled weekend visit to an Italian port and instead were rushed into the eastern Mediterranean, said Pentagon officials, speaking on condition they not be named. The escorts include the cruiser South Carolina and two other smaller ships, the officials said. In addition, three ships with 1,800 Marines aboard cut short a scheduled port call in Gibralter and were steaming east today, the officials said.
leader said. The evacuation happened after midnight when there were fears of a possible rescue operation by foreign troops, he said. Berri’s Amal militiamen had cleared all newsmen and photographers from the airport and switched off the lights, plunging the apron in total darkness. He said Amal guards were still protecting the Trans World Airlines Boeing 727 at the airport and the hostages "somewhere in Beirut.” President Reagan's national security adviser, Robert C. McFarlane, spoke with Berri by telephone today, according to sources close to Berri. The sources, who asked for anonymity, said McFarlane urged redoubled efforts to secure the safe release of the hostages.
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Shuttle flight international effort
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - Shuttle Discovery rocketed into orbit today with five American astronauts, a French test pilot and a Saudi Arabian prince for a mission that will include a “Star Wars’’ laser test and a hunt for a "black hole” in space. The international flight, 18th for the shuttle, began spectacularly as the 100-ton space plane blasted off its launch pad at 7:33 a m. EDT and darted skyward over the Atlantic Ocean, spewing a 700-foot tail of fire and a torrent of smoke from its rocket boosters. Nine minutes after liftoff, the Mission Control Center in Houston reported
Discovery was in an orbit more than 200 miles above the globe. The crew, commanded by astronaut Dan Brandenstein, includes Saudi Prince Sultan Salman Al-Saud, a nephew of King Fahd, and Patrick Baudry, a French military pilot. The others are pilot John Creighton and mission specialists Shannon Lucid, John Fabian and Steve Nagel. During seven days in space, the crew will deploy three communications satellites, hunt for a black hole in our Milky Way galaxy and serve as a target for a test of the laser beam part of the proposed Defense Department “Star Wars’’ shield against nuclear missiles.
world
Budget, Star Wars, MX on congressional agenda for discussion this week
WASHINGTON (AP) - The fight over the Pentagon’s budget moves to the House floor this week with major battles expected over nerve gas, the MX missile and President Reagan’s “Star Wars’’ strategic defense plan. At the same time. House-Senate negotiators will be trying to work out an agreement to produce a compromise 1986 budget blueprint, although consensus could be several weeks away. The major floor action will be in the House, where legislators beginning Tuesday will vote on a number of key issues as part of the effort to come up with a bill authorizing Pentagon spending. The bill on the floor proposes to freeze spending at current levels of about $292 billion, some $lO billion less than the defense bill approved two weeks ago by the Senate. Whatever passes the Democraticcontrolled House will have to be reconciled with the bill from the Republican-run Senate in a process similar to the effort to develop a budget package. President Reagan originally sought a 5.9 percent increase after inflation for defense spending, but he reluctantly has approved the Senate measure which limits Pentagon increases to next year’s expected inflation rate. A major fight is expected over nerve gas, which the Reagan administration wants to produce after a 16-year U.S. moratorium. The Senate approved the proposal, but
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The crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery features five American astronauts, a French test pilot and a Saudi Arabian prince as it blasts into space Monday. Posing with the flight seal are (kneeling, from left) Commander Daniel Brandestein and Pilot John Creighton; (standing, from left) astronauts Shannon Lucid, Steven Nagel, John Fabian, Sultan Salman Abdelazize Al-Saud of the Arab Satellite Communications Organization and Patrick Baudry of France. (AP Wirephoto).
The satellites are owned by AT&T, the Mexican government and a consortium of 22 Arab nations. Also aboard are two French medical experiments, three West German technology experiments and a Canadian-built robot arm. In all, 27 nations are involved in the mission. The prince will observe deployment of the Arab satellite and snap pictures of his homeland that could disclose hidden sources of oil, minerals and other resources. Discovery is to return to Earth on June 24, landing on the wide-open dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
the House has turned it down for the past three years. Nerve gas proponents say the vote will be close this year. Another dispute centers around the MX. Reagan wanted 48 more of the weapons next year en route to a total deployment of 100 of the weapons, but the Senate cut that to 12 and limited the overall force to 50. The House bill also proposes buying a dozen MXs in 1986, but would limit total deployment to 40, a cap supported by Rep. Les Aspin, D-Wis., the influential chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Controversy also surrounds Star Wars, known formally as the Strategic Defense Initiative. Reagan wanted the program’s budget raised from the $1.4 billion this year to $3.7 billion, but the Senate cut it to $2.95 billion. The House proposal would hold spending to $2.5 billion. Off the floor, the 26 members of the budget conference committee will be trying for a second week to reach agreement on the differing budget packages passed by the two chambers. Sen. Pete V. Domenici, R-N.M., chairman of the committee, says he is doubtful of quick action, but Rep. William H. Gray 111, D-Pa., chairman of the House Budget Committee, is optimistic about prospects for agreement. The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet Tuesday to listen again to William Bradford Reynolds, whose nomination as assistant attorney general has come under fire from civil rights advocates.
Democrats rap GOP's 'raids' INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - When Republicans raid Democratic officeholders for their own party, the Republicans are admitting they do not have the talent to govern, says Illinois State Comptroller Roland W. Burris, vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “If the Republicans have to get a Democrat to run for governor of Michigan or governor in Texas, or the governor of Massachusetts, they don’t have the talent to challenge incumbent Democrats,” said Burris Saturday at a meeting of the Indiana Democratic Editorial Association. Burris was re-elected to a second term as comptroller in 1982 with the thirdhighest number of votes ever received by a candidate in an Illinois statewide election He defeated Gary Mayor Richard G. Hatcher for his national Democratic Dost.