U.S. READIES 'PHASE 2' DRIVE TO UNDERCUT KHADAFY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000403720031-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 8, 2012
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: March 31, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403720031-5
NEW YORK POST
ARTICLE APPEARED 31 March 1986
ON PAGE a
U.S. READIES PHASE 2' DRI YE
TO UNDERCUT KHADAFY
h
By NILES LATHEM
Wa /sinptos Bea eau Chief
SANTA BARBARA -
The Reagan adminis-
tration is planning to
escalate covert action
this weekagainst
Moammar Khadafy in
response to his threat
of terror against
Americans abroad.
Senior administra-
tion officials told The
Post yesterday of the
"second phase" of
Operation Prairie
Fire - the calculated
challenge to Libya
that sent U.S. war-
ships into the Gulf of
Sidra on March 23.
They refused to di-
vulge details o the
covert activities of
.Thase IM-Known that the
U.S. is training and
supporting Libyan
dissident groups out
of Egypt to destabilize
Khadafy.
Nati y
v er John Poindex-
ter other-senior
and U. S. officials have
made secret trios to
Egypt in the past few
months to set the
age for t e covert
operation.
News of further ac-
tion as
came as e -
gence ~rece ~e re-
ports that nnadaf
has given orders to
term s lieutenants
in the Mideast and
atec American ano
Israeli, tar ts in re-
taw mm-for he U.B.
naval action in the
~u Wee x.
sources said
Khadafy has formed
an alliance with sev-
eral non-Libyan ter-
rorist groups, includ-
ing the remnant of the
Red Brigades of Italy
and West Germany's
Baader-Meinhoff, for
possible terrorist ac-
tivitles - so that
Libyan involvement
in future terrorism
will be harder to
prove.
U.S, Inteilie+eM has
also received reports
that Palestinian com-
mandos are undergo-
tacks on U.& and IIS-
raeUjjj e
The Information
came from intercepted
Libyan radio messages
over the weekend.
The U.S. has taken ex-
traordinary security
measures for its diplo-
matic and military per-
sonnel in the Mideast
and Europe in response
to increased terrorism
threats.
White House chief of
staff Donald Regan, in
an interview, made
clear that the U.S.
would respond harsh-
ly to any new act of
terrorism against
Americans.
"We'll hold [Khada-
fy] responsible,"
Regan said.
"In dealing with ter-
rorists, Its well not to
overestimate their
power. But you can't
brush it aside. You
have to be cautious."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403720031-5