LIBYAN TERRORISM THREAT REAL, WHITE HOUSE SAYS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000201010019-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 20, 2012
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: August 28, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/20: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201010019-1
WASHINGTON POST
28 August 1986
edged that the United States seeks
an Terrorism Threat to encourage internal opposition to
Lb
Y
Gadhafi, as The Post reported in its
recent stories. Speakes alluded to
th
is a atny in a briefing Sh
' Barbar ra o on Monday, saying t that
at
Real, White House Says
Gadhafi has "internal problems."
At his briefing, Speakes also took
By Lou Cannon When U.S. planes bombed Libyan issue with a story in today's New
Washington Post Staff Writer targets in April, President Reagan York Times, which questioned
"LOS ANGELES, Aug. 27-The said the action was in retaliation for whether the administration had any
the terrorist bombing of a West "hard evidence" to support its
white House denied today that it Berlin discotheque 11 days earlier claims that Libya was planning ter-
d exaggerated the threat of pro- that killed two U.S. servicemen and rorist attacks and said that specu-
iective terrorist activities by Lib- a Turkish woman and wounded lation about such activity "had got
pan leader Moammar Gadhafi or scores. out of hand."
as seeking to scare him into an The senior official who briefed Speakes attributed this story to
rational reaction. reporters specs ica y enie an ac- "mid-level officials" in Washington
"Our goal is to prevent Gadhafi count in The Washington Post to- and said "those who are talking
Qom doing things, not to provoke day that the U.S. government, after don't know [about the reports of
elm," said White House spokesman meetings between Secretary of new terrorist planning] and those
drry Speakes. State George P. Shultz and CIA Di- who know aren't talking."
:1Responding to published ac- rector William J. Casey, a em- Speakes identified those who do
counts that raised questions about barked on a cam ai n to frig ten know as the president, national se-
to extent of the Libyan threat and Gadhafi into reactin an to em- curity affairs adviser John M. Po-
e administration's current strat- bolden possible opponents into to - indexter, Shultz and White House
4w for dealing with At, Speakes said ing action against him. chief of staff Donald T. Regan. All
the government was "dealing with The Post story said that officials are in California except Regan who,
Zlities" in its warnings about Gad- in several agencies attributed a before going on vacation last week-
hafi. Without giving details, he said Wall Street Journal report Monday end, met with Shultz in Palo Alto.
the administration has evidence that Libya and the United States In an effort to keep pressure on
that Gadhafi "had not been de- "are on a collision course again" to Libya, U.N. Ambassador Vernon
terred" by the U.S. bombing raid on staff members in the National Se- Walters will discuss tightening U.S.
April 15. curity Council, where the "scare sanctions against Libya on a trip to
A senior White House official Gadhafi" campaign was prepared. Europe beginning Saturday, State
who rie a reporters here ay The senior official who briefed Department sources said.
said also that the U.S. government reporters here today referred to Among the ideas to be discussed
had "credible" intelligence informa- the Journal article as "unauthorized are a certificate system under
tion that adha i was p annin new but highly authoritative" and de- which European nations would be
terrorist activities against- . S. tar- fended its accuracy. White House required to stipulate that refined
gets. He declined to give any details officials have been telling reporters petroleum products shipped to the
on the grounds that it was against since the article appeared that it is United States do not contain any
White House policy to discuss in- generally accurate. crude oil from Libya. The shipment
telline nc e reports. These officials have also acknowl- of petroleum products refined in
Europe from Libyan crude oil was
among the loopholes for indirect
business left in Reagan's most re-
cent sanctions against Libya.
Another loophole in Reagan's or-
der was that it did not apply to Eu-
ropean subsidiaries of American
companies, because of a desire to
avoid the sort of legal and political
conflicts with the Europeans that
arose from Reagan's 1982 decisions
against a proposed Soviet natural
gas pipeline.
Walters plans to explore extend-
ing the existing ban on U.S. firms'
transactions with Libya to a select
group of subsidiaries that do much
of their business in Libya.
He is also expected to ask Euro-
pean nations to tighten their sanc-
tions against business with Libya.
Staff writer Don Oberdorfer
contributed to this report,
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/20: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201010019-1