REAGAN SURE HE DIDN'T ALLOW SWAP FOR CAPTIVES, BUSH SAYS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000402920010-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 8, 2012
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: January 21, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000402920010-7
..A t .?i
6JASHINGTON POST
21 January 1987
Reagan Sure He Didn't Allow
Swap for Captives, Bush Says
J By David Hl,ttnwn
YY.1.,11110-1 1+ -I 11 It
1Y.ir1 ,
Vice President Bu,h ,,aid I.,,t
night that President lean "is cer-
tain to this very day that he did not
authorize 'arms for hostages' " in
his decision to supply U.S. weapons
to Iran while seeking to win free-
*dom for Americans captive in Leb-
adon.
- : But Bush did not reiterate his
own claim, made last month, that
t$e president did not trade arms for
hostages.
In an address here to an interns-
clonal conference on terrorism,
Bash attempted to restate the ad-
ministration's antiterrorism policy,
which has been badly damaged by
the decision to sell weapons to, has,
a nation listed by the United States
as sponsoring terrorism.
The arms sales have also become
a political liability for the vice pres-
ident, who chaired a terrorism task
force last year and is launching his
1988 presidential campatign.
Bush, who participated in some
key meetings on the arms deals but
was left out of others, acknowl-
edged again last night that "a wide-
,pread perception certainly exists
that this administration traded arms
for hostages, thereby violating our
own strong policy of making no con-
cession to terrorists.
"When all the facts are out, the
American people can Make up their
own mind on that key question," he
said. Bush did not his own
view on this q mill, "we
must reaffirm our pol p*'idl a bet-
ter understanding that there is a
very thin and delicate line between
talking with terrorists and negoti.
ating with terrorist"
Referring to the efforts of Angli
can church envoy Terry Waite,
Bush said that "searching for ways
to communicate with hostage-tak-
ers can be a ghostly business."
The question of whether an
arms-for-hostages trade was.under-
taken has peen central to the un-
folding disclosures about the Iran
arms deals. Reagan said in his early
speeches on the controversy that
the United States did not make
such a trade. Aides have said he
continues to hold this view because
the weapons did not go directly to
the hostages' captors
In a memorandum dated Jan. 17,
1986, Vice Adm. John M. Poindex-
ter, then the president's national
security adviser, concluded that the
approach to [ran "may well be our
only way to achieve the release of
the Americans held in Beirut." Rea-
gan was briefed orally on the con-
tents of this memorandum, with
Bush and White House chief of staff
Donald T. Regan present, accord.
ing to a notation Poindexter made
on the memo. The document also
described an Israeli proposal to at-
tempt to bring to power "a more
moderate government" in Iran.
In his remarks last night, Bush
recalled the interception of the
Achille Lauro hijackers in October
1985 and the U.S. bombing raid on
Libya last April and said: "[t is ...
with a profound sense of loss that I
view this existing perception that
we have abandoned our policy of
not negotiating with terrorists." He
added that the administration "must
reaffirm our policy" and said, "Out
of adversity cones opportunity.
"And we now have the opportu-
nity to restore the credibility of our
policy, give it new meaning, and
move forward with a renewed com-
mitment in our battle against the
terrorist threat," Bush added.
"We do not make concessions to
terrorists. We do not pay ransoms.
We do not release prisoners. We do
not encourage other countries to
give in to terrorists. And we do not
agree to other acts that might en-
courage future terrorism," he said.
Bush, reviewing the recommen-
dations of the terrorism task force,
which issued a report last February,
said "we have made great progress
in thwarting potential terrorist at-
tacks."
He said "it is critical that would.
be terrorists know that their ac-
tions will result in retribution" but
added that "military solutions can
never be our first choice." Prior to
the April 15 Libya attack, the ad-
ministration had been embroiled in
a long-running internal debate over
the wisdom of using military force
against terrorists, a debate that
remains unsettled.
"We have to stand up to terror-
ism, and we have to keep standing
up until we stop it," Bush said.
"That's why our policy has been,
and continues to be, no concessions
to terrorists."
In a December interview, Bush
said he was "convinced" that the
United States was not trading arms
for hostages in the Iran dealings.
However, since then evidence has
emerged that such a trade was part
of the [ran policy, Bush did not re-
peat the contention last night.
An aide to the vice president said
Bush delivered the speech out of a
conviction that Americans want the
administration to "move forward"
against terrorism despite the Iran
scandal.
In other remarks, Bush said that
William Buckley, identified in pub-
lished reports as CIA station chief
in Beirut, was tortured and killed by
his captors. It was the first public
confirmation of Buckley's death,
although Bush did not say where he
got his information or give details.
Bush's spokesman, Marlin Fitz-
water, said the comment on Buck-
ley's death "reflects an acceptance
of the situation as we know it." He
noted that Buckley's body has never
been recovered. "The vice presi-
(lent feels there is enough informa.
tion now to acknowledge" Buckley's
death, he said.
The Washington Post reported in
November that Buckley, a terror.
ism expert who was kidnaped
March 16, 1984, (lied in Beirut,
apparently in June 1985. His kid.
rapers first declared him dead later
that year.
Bush is to travel today to Canada
for a meeting with Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney on acid rain and
trade issues.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000402920010-7