KUWAIT BOMBINGS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01070R000200990003-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 27, 2008
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: December 13, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2008/06/27: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000200990003-7
ABC World News Tonight
13. December 1983
KUWAIT/BOMBINGS JENNINGS: The Iranian government went out. of its way today to
say it had nothing to do with the bombings in Kuwait. The
foreign ministry said blaming Iran is part of a plot by the
United States and its agents against the Islamic revolution.
Well, the kind of evidence against Iran that you'd like to have
in a court does not appear to be^readily available. As John'-
McWethy reports, however, Washington's view on the subject is
firm.
MCWETHY: April 18, a car bomb at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut
kills 63, 17 Americans. October 23, a truck bomb at U.S. Marine
headquarters in Beirut kills 210 American servicemen and a
second bomb at French headquarters kills .58 there. December. 12,
yesterday, a truck bomb at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait kills
five, no Americans.- The French embassy is also hit. Question:
Who is responsible? A radical terrorist group called Islamic
Jihad or Islamic Holy War has claimed credit. Intelligence
sources say the group draws most of its members from fanatic
Iranians who have been sent throughout the Arab world by Iran's
Ayatollah Khomeni. Their mission: spread Islamic revolution.
High-ranking U.S. government sources say they have every reason
to believe, but still lack conclusive proof that Iran, with.help
from Syria, is encouraging, equipping and directing these
terrorists on their suicide missions. Syria helps, sources say,
but Iran appears to be calling the shots, at times intimidating
Syria with hints that its government might also be overthrown.
Question: Why are they attacking U.S. facilities? From the
early days of Iran's revolution, hatred of the West and what the
Ayatollah calls the great Satan, America, has been an important
motivator and rallying cry. Hussein Musawi is a leader of an
Islamic faction in Lebanon. Some say he has organized Iranian
acts of terrorism against the U.S. and his country. In an
interview Sunday, he said in French that the Islamic Holy War
.will continue until the U.S., France, and Israel have been
driven from Lebanon, and the U.S. backed government of Amin
Gemayel in Lebanon has been overthrown. Question: What can the
U.S. do to stop the terrorist attacks? Though many American
officials admit there is little the U.S. can do, Secretary of
State Shultz said today: SHULTZ:' If the offenders can be
clearly identified, then I think there would be ways of getting
at them. CASPAR WEINBERGER (Secretary of Defense): The
defenses against terrorism when they come as a surprise,to the
Approved For Release 2008/06/27: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000200990003-7
 Approved For Release 2008/06/27: CIA-RDP88-01070R000200990003-7
MCWETHY: U.S. military sources say for more than a month the
Pentagon has had a target list of Iranian strongholds in
Lebanon. U.S. sources say those could be hit, but the real
source of fanaticism, Iran itself, will not be a military
target. American officials said that yes, the U.S. does have
contingency plans to strike Iran, but those are old plans based
on the possibility of a Soviet invasion of Iran that would
require a U.S. response. Question: What are the prospects for
the future? Since the Marine headquarters in Beirut was
destroyed in October, U.S. intelligence officials have been
warning the president and his Cabinet to expect more of the
same. Question: How serious is the threat to the U.S. itself?
The barricades that have recently been put around the White
House and today at the State Department indicate that security
officials take the potential threat very seriously. Even though
most terrorist groups have avoided hitting targets inside the
U.S. because of fear of the FBI and local police forces.
Intelligence officials warn, however, that 1984 will be a'year
of high vulnerability for the U.S. with major candidates
campaigning for national office with two national political
conventions, the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and a World's
Fair in New Orleans. John McWethy, ABC News, Washington.
Approved For Release 2008/06/27: CIA-RDP88-01070R000200990003-7