KADDAFI'S CRUSADE - THE LIBYAN LEADER THREATENS NEW TERRORIST ATTACKS AFTER REAGAN STEAMS THROUGH HIS 'LINE OF DEATH'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000707060062-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 10, 2012
• Sequence Number: 62
• Publication Date: April 7, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7
1 ARTICLE APPEARED
~ ~N PAGE a~ =
Kaddafi's
Crusade
The Libyan leader threatens new terrorist attacks ~
after Reagan steams through his 'line of death' ~
is audience was small and rela-
tively subdued, but Muammar
Kaddafi managed to work him-
selfinto afine frenzy. "We humil-
iated America and its forces," he
told the crowd gathered at the Bab al Azi-
ziya barracks in Tripoli. Kaddafi boasted
that his "line of death" had repelled the
U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Gulf of Sidra. He
claimed that his missiles had shot down
three American warplanes, "whose six pi-
lots are now feeding the fish." He main-
tained that his forces had recovered a dud
missile fired by the Americans. "We are
going to hand it over to the Russians," he
gloated. He dismissed Ronald Reagan as "a
trivial and futile actor" and bragged that
"America fears Libya." When Kaddafi fi-
nally finished, Libyan soldiers dragged out
a terrified cow with "Reakn" painted on its
side. One of the men slit its throat with a
knife. Then, as the animal thrashed out its
life, the soldiers dipped their hands into the
wound and danced around in the blood.
By American reckoning, it was Kaddafi
whose ox was gored last week. U.S. war-
ships steamed across the "line of death"
into what Libya regards as territorial wa-
ters and stayed there, unharmed, for 75
hours. When Libya fired surface-to-sir mis-
siles at American planes, the Sixth Fleet
replied with missiles of its own, silencing
the air-defense battery. When Libyan pa-
trol boats approached the fleet, bombs and
missiles drove them off, sinking at least
two. The American armada-three giant
aircraft carriers and 24 other ships-had
come to keep the sea lanes open and to
punish Kaddafi for his sponsorship of inter-
national terrorism. The dual mission ac-
complished, it sailed away five days before
the announced end of the exercise, with
Reagan offering "a hearty 'well done'."
That might not be the end of it, however.
By barging into the Gulf of Sidra, Reagan
gave Kaddafi a bloody nose, but there was
no sign that the volatile Libyan leader had
been persuaded to get out of the terrorism
NEWSWEEK
7 April 1986
business. On the contrary, Libya exhorted
its fellow Arabs to form "suicide squads"
and to hurl "human bombe" at American
targets in the region. Already, Kaddafi had
begun to mobilize a counterattack by his
allies and protegee in the vast underworld
of international terrorism (page 25).
"America is our target," announced the
Palestinian faction run by Abu Nidal, who
was blamed for the atrocities at the Rome
and Vienna airports last Christmas.
Reagan himself warned about "intensive
Libyan preparations" for a campaign of
violence against Americans. "The United
States will not be intimidated by new
threats of terrorism," the president prom-
ieed. So far, most Americana seemed to
agree. In a NEWSWEF.x Poll (page 23),
63 percent of the people questioned said
last week's attack on Libya was worth-
while, even if it leads to more terrorism
against Americana.
And it probably will. Senior American
officials, intelligence analysts and diplo-
matic sources in Washington have told
I~EWSWEEK of mounting evidence that
Kaddafi is preparing a crusade against
American citizens and facilities, mostly in
Western Europe and the Middle East. His
bag of dirty tricks includes the following:
^ Hi?hly classified CIA reports warn
hat Kaddafi's a sots have had "no fewer
than 35" American tar ets under surcei -
lance overseas. The list ranges trom t e
offices of American com anies to the head-
quartersofthe5ixthFleetandt a omesof'
its top officers in Maples. President Reagan
also had been told that_Libyan hit squads
are tailing CIA station chiefs in the region.
? Last Wednesday a message was sent
from Tripoli to Libyan agents in Paris. Bel-
grade and Geneva, ordering them to "pre-
pare to carry out the plan." Similar mes-
sages were sent to Kaddafi's agents in
Rome. Berlin and Madrid.
^ A defector from a Libvan hit squad has
told the CIA about a plot against the life of
an American diplomat in Europe. The de-
fector a North African who was recruited
b Lib an sots in Western Euro has
passed a series of lie-detector tests an is
sti to ..Gusto y.
? Two Libyan agents in the Lebanese
Army were ordered last week to attack U.S.
Embassy personnel in Beirut. American
officials believe that U.S. buildings in the
Lebanese capital are now safe from car-
bomb attacks. But they worry that assas-
sins might attack Americans with rocket-
propelled grenades.
^ In recent weeks Kaddafi has intensi- ',
fled his efforts to recruit European and ',
Palestinian hit men in hopes of shifting the ',
blame away from Libya. One Palestinian
was enlisted to help carry out an attack on a
U.S. diplomatic mission in Western Eu- !
rope. The plot was uncovered when ~
Yasir Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liber-
ation Organization, tipped off the United
States through a third party. Arafat didn't
want his own Al Fatah to be blamed.
^ To keep Washington in what one
source calls "a state of high anxiety," the
Libyans are planning apsychological-war-
fare campaign in Europe and the Middle
East, including telephoned bomb threats.
"We think they're really going to yank our ~
chain," says an American official. Libya
also is trying to stir up demonstrations at i
U.S. embassies in Sudan and two other
African countries. Apparently the Libyans ~I
hope that the demonstrators will run amok '
and sack the embassies. ~
The targeted embassies and other Amer-
icans indanger overseas have been warned,
and across Europe and the Middle East
governments are tightening up security.
Similar steps are being taken in many
American cities and airports, and the 3,500
Libyans who live in the United States are
being watched. Some of the precautions
were taken before last week's action in the
Gulf of Sidra and have already begun to pay
off. In February an Italian soldier and a
free-lance cameraman were arrested inSic-
ilyand accused of giving secrets to the Lib-
yans, possibly in connection with a plot
against Americans.
Intelli ence anal is aren't sure when
a s new terror campaign will begun,
if it does at all Some exaerts argue thathe
will strike quickly in order to reaffirm his
manhood after the Gulf of Sidra incursion.
thers believe he will wait two or three
moot s, gtving imself time to put togeth-
er an e a rate campaign-and wing
Americans time to dro their ard. Rob?
e- r~Rupperman o tgetown University
in Washington predicts that Kaddafi will
hold off for a couple of months. Then, he
Continued
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7 ~?
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7
o~
., ,
says, we ro going to see attacks against
Americans at airports, on the Via Veneto,
at train stations. There will be attacks
against individuals-American of$cisls
living abroad and touris'tg-and against
American businesses. We're in for terrible
trouble ahead."
But Kaddafi is as unatedictable as he is
d~ roue According to several sources, a
requent y u a report on men-
tal state claims that he uses halluctnagens
to ex pan mtn . so is sat to
be preoccupte wtt a girlfriend in West-
ern Europe, flying olf' in a private plane to
visit her almost every week. Whether or
not those stories are true, Kaddafi some-
times doesn't seem to make sense, even to
people who share his cultural background.
NEwswsEx has learned that one impecca-
blesource who conferred with Kaddafi last
Tuesday told American of$cials that he
found the Libyan leader "disoriented and
incomprehensible."
If Kaddafi is caught sponsoring attacks
on Americans, the Reagan administration
promises a swift and strong response. No
final decisions have been made, in part be-
cause American retaliation will depend on
what Kaddafi does. Officials have told
NEWSWEEK, however, that most of Rea-
an s a visers su rt Secretar of State
eorge ultz's longstandin? cal or re-
prisals the next time around, not ust
a stns terrortst cam but ainst Libvan
mi itary an economic targets as well. Sec-
rete o ense as ar em r er an
m. t tam rows, the chairman of the
Joint hiefs of tall, are still reluctant to
use mt ttary power except against specific
terrorist tar ets. ut na a an th
White House c ie of staff John Poin-
dexter the president's national-security
adviser and CIA Director Willtam Casey
su rt Shultz's contention that further
ibvan-sponsored terrorism should be an-
sweredwith devastating attacks.
So far most of Libyan industry does not
appear on any U.S. target list: nor have
plans been drawn up to bomb Kaddafi's
command bunker or the barracks where be
lives. But American targeters already are
prepared to attack a wide range of Libyan
military facilities and the training camps
allegedly used by terrorists. And if Kaddafi
gives them sufficient provocation, Ameri-
canwarplanes will go after the oil pipelines
and storage facilities that are crucial to
Libya's hard-pressed economy. "The next
act of terrorism," promises a top U.S. offi-
cial. "wil l bring the ham mer down."
toois/Itatlsss:Washington began to tighten
the screws on Kaddafi early this year. After
the murder of 15 air travelers in Rome and
Vienna. Reagan ordered American resi-
dents toleave Libya, and he imposed a trade
embargo on the country. Many American
allies were unenthusiastic about the sanc-
tions, which seemed likely to do Kaddafi
little harm. Preparing to go it alone, the
administration drafted along-term plan for
additional economic and political moves
against Kaddafi. It also started to look for
an excuse to take military action against
him ~ NEWSWEEK, Jan.'10i.
Why Libya?The administration has long
recognized that Syria and Iran are even
more deeply involved with terrorism than
Kaddafi is. The Abu Nidal group, for in-
Feorin# Trou~~ A Now~swoalc Pow
Most Americansthink last week's action against Libya was justified, but they fear
s terrorist resporse. And there are grave doubts about aiding the contras.
Brif of Sidra Attacks
Do you think U.S. attacks against Libyan
ships and military sites were justified
or not?'
75% Justified
15% Not justified
Some people think that U.S. naval maneu-
vers in the Gulf of Sidra were a deliberate
attempt to provoke an attack trom Libya.
1~ you agree or disagree?'
43 % Agree
48% Disagree
?ANBWE88 RROM TH& 90 PEIK:EN7' Ot ALL
RBBFONI)BN'IS WHO HAD HEARD OR RLAD ABOUT THE
U8. REfAL1ATORY ATTAIXB.
Fears of Terrorisia
Following the US. attack on Libya, are
you more afraid of terrorist acts against
Americans because Kaddafi will retaliate,
or less afraid because the attack taught
Kaddafi a lesson?
64% More afraid
2f3% Less afraid
Aid to the Contras
f~ you think giving U.S. military aid to the
contra forces fighting the communist gov-
ernment in Nicaragua will eventually lead
to U.S. troops being sent there to help in the
fight? Or do you think such aid will permit
the contras to canyon without the help of
U.S. troops?
44% U.S. troops will be sent
33% Permit contras to cant' on
23 % Don't know
Which is of greater concern to you today:
the presence of a communist govemment as
close to the United States as Nicaragua, or
the possibility that U.S. troops will become
involved in a war in Central America?
34% Communist govemment
54% U.S. troops involved
The Wise Use of MiNtary Force
Do you think President Reagan makes wise
use of military forces to solve foreign-policy
problems, or do you think the president is
too quick to employ U.S. forces?
Do you think the U.S. attack on Libya was
Wise
Too quick
worth doing even if it risks more terrorist
Current
56 %
32 %
attacks against Americans?
., ~
40 %
52 %
f33 %
Worth it
t o s3
26 %
Not worth it
(After Grenada)
43 %
47 %
If you had the opportunity to travel over-
seasthis summer, would you take the trip or
refuse it because of the threat of terrorism?
34% Take trip
61 % Refuse it
~au,~?
For thu N[wsw[[[ Poll. The Gallup Organtzahon
interviewed a representative nauonal sample of 606
adults by telephone Narch '?8 and 2S The margin of
error ~ plus or minus 5 percentage points. Some "Don't
know" responses omitted. The Newsw[ex Poll c_ 1986
by 4[wsw[eii. Inc
stance. could be traced more directly to
Syria than to Libya. But Syria and Iran are
difficult, well-armed targets, and the State
Department regards Syrian President Ha-
fez Assad as theessential mediator in Leba-
non. SoLibya became the prime U.S. target.
Whatever his precise standing may be
among the patrons of terrorism. Kaddafi
deserved to be punished. "He harbors ter-
rorists, trains them, supplies them and en-
courages them." Shultz said in Rome last
week. "You don't have to be Sherlock
Holmes to figure it out." Kaddafi also con-
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7 ~
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7
tinued to alarm Washington with his med-
dling inChad, where his forces are support-
ing rebels against the government, and
Sudan, where he is supporting the govern-
mentagainst some rebels. Even Libya pre-
sentedproblems as atarget, however. It was
difficult to locate the terrorist camps and to
know when they were occupied by specific
groups, such as Abu Nidal's. And there was
a high risk of killing Libyan bystanders.
Then, in late January, Kaddafi gave the
Americans the pretext they were looking
for: he proclaimed his "line of death" across
the Gulf of Sidra (map). "That line is mani-
festlyillegal underinternationallaw, sothe
United States had a perfect
right to cross it, which means a
perfect right to fire back if Kad-
dafi were to attack us," said a
senior administration official.
The freedom-of-navigation is-
sue also solved the targeting
problem; the Americans could
fire at Libyan missile sites, air-
craft or warships that threat-
ened them. In earl February
the ulanninrt for Operation
Prairie Fire be an, and soon
Washington'sreso vewas ard-
ency t eCIA- repor~s~Fiat
Lib an ents were s~Ta owin
U.S. di lomats in ~ uro a and
t o i e ast. y t ien t o
Navy had begun to put pressure
on Kaddafi with unannounced
incursions into the airspace
over the Gulf of Sidra. Sources
told NEW3WEEK that carrier-
based American planes crossed
the line for 32 consecutive days,
forcing Kaddafi to keep his air
defenses on constant alert.
^~r~l MN~Mts: The decision to
go ahead with Prairie Fire was
made at a meeting in the White
House on March 14. The tough-
est issue was how to retaliate if
tional-security adviser dropped a stitch.
After agreeing to brief congressional lead-
ers on Prairie Fire, Poindexter failed to
follow through, apparently because it
slipped his mind. The Hill went unbriefed,
even as Under Secretary of State Michael
Armacost called in the Soviet charge d'af-
faires to tell him what was going to hap-
pen-and to warn Moscow that U.S. forces
would strike back if Libya opened fire.
Ronald Reagan himself took little part in
the March 14 meeting. "You almost got the
impression that he wasn't paying atten-
tion," anaide recalls. But at the end Reagan
recapped the proceedings and went over the
station outside the Gulf of Sidra, and they
knew what was likely to happen next. The
skipper, Capt. Jerry Unruh, sported a name
tag on his breast pocket that read: "Ter-
rorist Buster." "One of the men gave it to
me, and I promised I'd wear it," he told
NEWSWEEK'S Theodore Stanger, who vis-
ited the carrier as Prairie Fire began. By
then the ship's store had sold out its supply
of "Terrorist Buster" T shirts ($4.50 each I.
'Str>~off' rawN: After lunch on Monday
the Libyans fired their first SAM-5 mis-
siles, and in response, American war-
planes hurtled off the flight decks of the
Saratoga, the Coral Sea and the America.
For nearly 24 hours they contin-
ued their scheduled training
flights and fought when they
had to, efficiently but cau-
tiously. American electronics
jammed the Libyan defenses,
and the Sixth Fleet fired its mis-
siles and dropped its bombs
from the relative safety of
"standoff" range. There were a
few glitches. The fleet never did
determine exactly how many
missiles the Libyans had fired
or how many Libyan patrol
boats were sunk or how many
Libyans had been killed 1150
was the best guess). In addition,
U.S. officials worried that Kad-
dafimight have been telling the
truth when he said he had recov-
ered adud "HARM" missile,
which could be an intelligence
bonanza for Moscow. When the
first action reports got back
to the White House, however,
Ronald Reagan's first question
was: "Any casualties?" None,
he was told. "Good!" the presi-
dent exclaimed, pounding the
arm of his chair.
Elsewhere, the incursion
drew a mixed reaction. Con-
DEP.4RTMEIT OF DEFF.\~E
B~rntefferln~:ALibyanpatrolboatafterahitbya U.S. missile
Kaddafi fired on the fleet. Shultz favored
swift attacks on Libyan oilfields and terror-
ist camps, while Weinberger argued that
the U.S. response should be proportional to
the Libyan aggression. Shultz wanted tar-
gets to be selected in advance, while Crowe
insisted that the Sixth Fleet commander,
Vice Adm. Frank Kelso, should be allowed
to make the final decisions on the spot.
Poindexter had the swing vote, and he engi-
neered acompromise: Kelso could defend
himself, but if Kaddafi launched an all-out
assault the fleet would retaliate against a
graduated, preselected list of Libyan mili-
tary and economic targets, with Washing-
ton approving each escalation. Later, offi-
cialsagreed that Poindexter's compromise
allowed the United States to retain the mor-
alhigh ground by waiting until the Libyans
opened fire and then responding in kind.
Then, NEWSWEEK has learned, the na-
rules of engagement in some detail. "It was
pretty obvious that he knew what he was
going to do long before he sat down," says
the aide. When the action began last week,
'administration spokesmen insisted that
freedom of navigation was the only issue.
"The purpose is not to put Kaddafi into his
box, [although] that's where he belongs,"
Shultz said during a visit to Turkey. "The
purpose is to exert the U.S. right to conduct
naval and air exercises in every part of the
globe." But aides confirm that Reagan has a
visceral dislike for Kaddafi and wants to
overthrow him, just as he hopes to depose
Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega. "We wanted to
provoke Kaddafi into responding so we
could stick it to him," says one participant
in the March 14 meeting. "And we knew he
would obligeus."
The men on board the aircraft carrier
Saratoga knew exactly why they were on
gress was more or less acquiescent. Some of
the European allies regretted the violence,
but not too heatedly, while others happily
cloaked themselves in the fig leaf of
free navigation. As expected, Arab govern-
mentscomplained, moderates and radicals
alike, but some of the protests had a hollow
ring. "People keep coming up to us in pri-
vate and saying, 'Great'," reported a U.S.
diplomat in the Middle East, where Kad-
dafi is more despised than admired. The
final verdict on Operation Prairie Fire will
come in the weeks and months ahead, when
Kaddafi launches his next terror cam-
paign--ordeddes not to risk it. If there is a
new round of terror, the ruthless friends of
Muammar Kaddafi will find that the
stakes are higher the next.o
RUSSELL WATSON a'It JOHN WALCOTT
JOHN B A R R 5' I n Wash ~nKto~n~. 9'CJ1Q'P'CtTiTd"N and
RUTH MARSHALL in Tr1~Ml1
and bureau reports
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7
ARTICLE APPEARED 1
ON PA6 ~ " ~...~
NEW YORK TIMES
10 April 1986
President's News Conference on Foreign and
Domestic Issues
Following is a transcript of President Xeagan's news conference Last night
iR. Wasfington, as recorded by The New Yurk Times:
OPENING STATEMENT
Good evening. I have a brief state-
ment here. Before taking your ques-
tions_ I'd like to touch briefly on two
imyurtant issues.
First, the deadline for Americans
paying their taxes -April 15th -will
be upon us in less than a week. April
15th is also the date that the Congress
is required to complete work on a
budge[ resolution.
?'Tens of millions of Americans will
meet their deadline -they'll pay
their taxes -even if they have to
spena the entire weekend figuring out
how much they owe. But will Con-
gress meet its deadline for the budget
resolution? We hear the same tat-
tesed old argument [hat the Amer-
ican people are undertaxed.
. Weil, the American people are not
undertaxed -but their patience is
overtaxed. Today, taxes take the
same ;hare of the Gross National ,
Product as during the 1970's. But Gov-
ernment spending as a share of Grross
National Product has soared up and
~~.
So 1 urge the Congress to forget
about raising taxes and concentrate
instead on controlling spending and ,
putting Government's financial house
inorder. And that'll help our economy
and continue the best economic ex-
pansion this country's seen in a quar-
ter of acentury.
Second issue is aid to the Nicara-
guan freedom fighters. Two events in
recent weeks have underscored the
urgency of our aid request to the
democratic resistance. First, the
ti,carag+~aa Communists sent troops
into Honduras on asearch-and-de-
stroy mission to kill off the freedom
fighters. Second, the Sandinista Com-
munists torpedoed the Contadora
talks -talks conducted with 12 other
Latin countries who seek peace in the
region.
And these events demonstrate that
the Nicaraguan Communists will
never make peace with their neigh-
bors, or with their own people, unless
the pressure on them increases. The
Communists must realize that they
cannot crush their opponents, and our
assistance can ensure that the free-
dom fighters are not crushed. That
assistance will give Nicaraguans a
choice, and it will give diplomacy a
chance.
Four out of five Central American
countries now have democratic gov-
ernments -democracies that our bi-
partisan policies helped to bring
about.
We must stick to this bipartisan
strategy-and this coming week, the
House of Representatives will be
called upon to maintain that tradi-'
tion. Action now is essential. We can-
not afford further delay. This pro-
posal must not be held hostage to any
other legislation.
Through its vote next week the
House can show the world that the
United States is determined to defend
freedom in Central America. The
Soviet Union, Fidel Castro and the
Sandinistas are determined to make
the region a Communist enclave.
Well, we must not and we will not pe~-
mit that to happen. Helen?
talist revolution, ~htch is targeted on
mapy of his own Arab compatriots
and where we figure in that I don't
know. Maybe we're just [he enemy
because it's a tittle like climbing
Mount Everest - because we're
here. But there's no question but that
he has singled ua out more and more
for attack and we're aware of that. As
I say, we're gathering evidence as
fast as we can.
~ Mr. President, Colonel Qaddati
threatened today to escalate the vio-
IenC~ against American civilians and
military targets throughout the world
if his country is attacked. Does he
have the ability to strike here on
Amefican soil?
,t; Well, he has - we know that
these are a number of his countrymen
in? tkis ??ouncry. He has even sug-
gested That he could call upon people
to do that, anti we certainly do not
ov~+rlook ~ltat possibility. We're going
t~> be on the ale: t and on guard for
anything he might do. He has threat-
ened that he will bring that kind of
w,aifare to our shores -directly
here.
Of course it's kind of hard to keep
up with him because just a short time
after this recent T.W.A. explosion he
went on the air to state that this was
an_attack on innocent civilians and
pure terrorism, and he wouldn't have
anything to do with that. That's the
same man who referred to the slaugh-
ter of the innocents in Rome and
Vienna airports as a noble act.
So, i don't know whether you count
on' what he says for your real infor-
mation. Ithink you just ignore that
and go looking for facts.
Q. What precautions would you say
Americans can take to prevent ter-
rorist attacks at home?
A. Well we're Join
aye can, an thin c all of the law-en-
orcement atzenc es o merica are
alerted to this fact. And we're not en-
tirely helpless, because, as I pointed.
`u~T~elteve som
e ast time we were he '
Est year we ve aborted. t1Lmu~h
Our intelligence gathered in co~o~ppeera-
tion wi our a es. we ve aT-inrTed
].2& planned terrorist attack_a Lhar
nw r mk place hersuco of n it haves
iqg the information in advance.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Libya and Terrorism
Q. Mr. President do iou have
- lid evt ence t at
si or t e recent acts of terrorism?
t ou are contem at n ma or
retaliation, won't you be kt to a lot
oT~nnocen'~veoo e~13Ti a to 0 ow
u
~. Helen. we have considerable evi-
nce over uice a ton riod of time
that Oa a i n autte outspo-
ken about his participation in ur>zittg
and su rtin terrorist acts a
Kind o wa are as a as ca it.
8it:u- ttow, however.3 can't answer
,yel+ specificially on this other because
w C re conttnutn with our intelli ence
work any a~Fiertn evt ence on t ese
most recent attac An we re not
ready vet to speak on that and any ac-
tion that we might take would be de-
cent nn what we learn and_ so I
can't o further.
r. rest ent, I know you must
have given it a lot of thought but what
do you think is the real reason that
Americans are the prime target of
t.: rrorism? Could it be our policies?
A. Well we know that this mad dog
of the Middle East has a goal of a
world revolution, Musltm fundamen-
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7
 ~\ I \ ~_
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7
AFR~~ t5 19Pw
Transcript of Address
B
Rea
an on Lib
a
y
g
y
:41y fellow Americans, at 7 o'clock
this evening Eastern time, air and
naval forces of the United States
launched a series of strikes against
the headquarters, terrorist facilities
and military assets that support
'viuammar Qaddafi's subversive ac-
tivities.
The attacks were concentrated and
carefully targeted to minimize casu-
alties among the Libyan people, with
whom we have no quarrel.
From initial reports, our forces
have succeeded in their mission. Sev-
eral weeks ago, in New Orleans, I
:varned Colonel Qaddafi we would
hold his regime accountable for any
new terrorist attacks launched
against American citizens. More re-
cently, Invade it clear we would re-
spond as soon as we determined con-
clusively who was responsible for
such attacks.
On Apri15 in West Berlin a terrorist
bomb exploded in a nightclub fre-
quented by American servicemen.
Sgt. Kenneth Ford and a young Turk-
ish woman were killed and 230 others
were wounded, among them some 50
American military personnel.
This monstrous brutality is but the
latest act in Colonel Qaddafi's reign
of terror. The evidence is now conclu-
sive that the terrorist bombing of La
Belle discotheQue was planned and
executed under the director orders of
the Libyan regime.
On March 25, more than a week be-
fore the attack, orders were sent from
Tripoli to the Libyan People's Bureau
in East Berlin to conduct a terrorist
attack against Americans, to cause
maximum and indiscriminate casual-
ties. Libya's agents then planted the
bomb.
On April 4, the People's Bureau
alerted Tripoli that the attack would
be carried out the following morning.
The next day they reported back to
Tripoli on the great success of their
mission.
Our evidence is direct, it is precise,
it is irrefutable. We have solid evi-
dence about other attacks Qaddafi
has planned against the United
States' installations and diplomats
and even American tourists.
Thanks to close cooperation with '
our friends, some of these have been
prevented. With the help of French
authorities, we recently aborted one
such attack: a planned massacre
using grenades and small arms of
civilians waiting in lines for visas at
an American Embassy.
Colonel Qaddafi is not only an
enemy of the United States. His
record of subversion and aggression
against the neighboring states in Af-
rica is well documented and well
known. He has ordered the murder of
fellow Libyans in countless countries.
He has sanctioned acts of terror in Af-
rica, Europe and the Middle East, as
well as the Western Hemisphere. To-
day we have done what we had to do.
If necessary, we shall do it again.
It gives me no pleasure to say that,
and I wish it were otherwise. Before
Qaddafi seized power in 196.9, the peo-
pie of Libya had been friends of the
United States, and I'm sure that to-
day most Libyans are ashamed and
disgusted that this man has made
their country a synonym %or barba??
rism around the world.
The Libyan people are a decent peo-
ple caught in the grip of a tyrant.
To our friends and allies in Europe
who cooperated in today's mission, I
would only say you have the primary
gratitude of the American people.
Europeans who remember history
understand better than most that
there is no security, no safety, in the
appeasement of evil. It must be the
core of Western policy that there be
no sanctuary for terror, and to sus-
tain such a policy, free men and free
nations must unite and work together.
Sometimes it is said that by impos-
ingsanctions against Colonel Qaddafi
or by striking at his terrorist installa-
tions, we only magnify the man's im-
portance -that the proper way to
deal with him is to ignore him. I do
not agree. Long before I came into
this office, Colonel Qaddafi had en-
gaged in acts.of international terror
- acts that put him outside the com-
pany of civilized men. For years,
however, he suffered no economic, or
political or military sanction, and the
atrocities mounted in number, as did
the innocent dead and wounded.
And for us to ignore, by inaction,
the slaughter of American civilians
and American soldiers, whether in
nightclubs or airline terminals, is
simply not in the American tradition.
When our citizens are abused or at-
tacked anywhere in the world, on the
direct orders of a hostile regime, we
will respond, so long as I'm in this
Oval Office. Self-defense is not only
our right, it is our duty. It is the pur-
pose behind the mission undertaken
tonight - a mission fully consistent
with Article 51 of the United Nations
Charter.
We believe that this pre-emptive
action against his terrorist installa-
tions will not only diminish Colonel
Qaddafi's capacity to export terror -
it will provide him with incentives
and reasons to alter his criminal
behavior. I have no illusion that to-
night's action will bring down the cur-
tain on Qaddafi's reign of terror, but
this mission, violent though it was,
can bring closer a safer and more se-
cure world for decent men and
women. We wilt persevere.
This afternoon we consulted with
the leaders of Congress regarding
what we were about to do and why.
Tonight, I salute the skill and profes-
sionalism of the men and women of
our armed forces who carried out this
mission. It's an honor to be your Com-
mander in Chief.
We Americans are slow to anger.
We always seek peaceful avenues be-
fore resorting to the use of force, and
we did. We tried quiet diplomacy,
public condemnation, economic sanc-
tions and demonstrations of military
force -none succeeded. Despite our
repeated warnings. Qaddafi contin-
ued his reckless policy of intimida-
tion, his relentless pursuit of terror.
He counted on America to be pas-
sive. He counted wrong. t warned that
there should be no place on earth
where terrorists can rest and train
and practice their deadly skills. I
meant it. I said that we would aM
with others it possible and alone if
necessary to insure that terrorists
have no sanctuary anywhere.
Tonight we have. Thank you, and
God bless you.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7
~rl~~~,] NEW YO"K T'?~1E:; ~ -
' oN PAGE -+-~,~ ?0 ~?~ay ? 986
C.I.A. Director Urges Inquiry on NBC Broadcast
By STEPHEN ENGELBERG
Specul to The New York Times
Mr. Polk said: "NBC is referring Mr.
Casey's allegation to our legal counsel
and therefore I'm asked not to com-
ment." Tim Russert, a vice president
at NBC, said it had "referred Casey's
allegation to legal counsel to review."
He had no further comment.
A spokesman for the agency, George
Lauder, said last week that intelligence
officials had been ordered not to pro-
vide information on intelligence mat-
ters to The New York Times and other
news organizations.
S Organizations Names
Mr. Casey has said that five news or-
ganizations have violated the com-
munications intelligence statute in re-
porting on intercepted Libyan com-
munications. These were The New
York Times, The Washington Post,
Time, Newsweek, and The Washington
Times. Editors in those organizations
denied knowing of any story they pub-
lished that violated the law and Justice
Department officials were cool to the
idea of bringing prosecutions.
!n a speech last week, Mr. Casey said
that he was not in favor of pursuing
past violations, but said future in-
stances in which the Taws were broken
should be pursued in the courts.
Two weeks ago, Mr. Casey warned
two editors of The Washington Post
that their newspaper could face prose-
cution if it published a report on the
same subject.
Editors at The Washington Post have
said they have not yet decided whether
to publish their story on the Pelton
case.
The Justice Department is the Fed-
eral agency that decides whether to
bring criminal prosecutions. When
other agencies believe they have evi-
dence of criminal violations of Federal
law, they refer the information to the
Justice Department, which decides
whether to prosecute.
Fred Warren Bennett, Mr. Pelton's
lawyer, said today that jury selection
in the case would take three to four
days. He said trial itself would prob-
ably last between five and eight days.
Mr. Bennett said he did not plan to
use classified information in defending
Mr. Pelton. But he said he planned to
cross-examine prosecution witnesses
who are expected to testify on the
potential damage to national security
prosecutors say Mr. Pelton caused.
Most evidence against Mr. Pelton
made public so tar is drawn from his
admissions to two agents of the Fed-
eral Bureau of Investigation in two in-
terviews last year. Federal District
Judge Herbert Murray has rejected
Mr. Bennett's attempt to suppress
those statements. Mr. Bennett said the
statements were elicted through trick-
ery and added that he would raise the
issue again in the trial itself.
"We plan to pursue that defense as
well as others," he said.
Prosecutors have avoided hiving pre-
cise descriptions of programs Mr. Pel-
ton has been accused of compromising.
Government officials said the National
Security Agency has pressed hard to
assure chat as little as possible is dis-
closed about its operations.
Prosecutors have also made public
little information about telephone calls
they said Mr. Pelton made to set up his
first meeting with Soviet agents. In
court papers, the prosecution has satd
only that the calls were made to a "tar-
getted premises." Law enforcement of-
ficials have satd these calls were made
to the Soviet embassy.
Prosecutors have said in pre-teal
motions that the tapes would be played
for the jury through headphones. The
tapes would not be audible to the pub-
lic, although edited transcripts would
be provided for reporters. The Nactunal
Broadcasting Company and W MA R, its
local affiliate in Baltimore, have chal-
lenged this procedure.
"We're trying to get it so the tapes
are played in open court and no part of
this trial is closed." said Stewart G.
Webb, a lawyer representing the news
organizations.
Meetings in Viema
According to court papers, Mr. Pel-
ton disclosed to Soviet agents at leas[
two sets of information relating to the
security agency.
Prosecutors charged that Mr. Pelton
called the Soviet agents in January L980
to offer them something "very interest-
ing." According to court papers, the
F.B.I. said Mr. Pelton said he told the
Soviet agents at a subsequent meeting
about an N.S.A. collection project that
could be understood without much
technical knowledge.
Prosecutors charged that over the
next three years Mr. Pelton met with
Soviet agents twice in Vienna. Among
the matters discussed, the prosecutors
said, was a report Mr. Pelton wrote in
1978 about security agency projects
aimed at the Soviet Union.
WASHINGTON, May 19 -The Di-
rector of Central Intelligence said to-
day that he had asked the Justice De-
partment to consider prosecuting the
National Broadcasting Company on a
charge of broadcasting a report con-
taining classified information.
William J. Casey, the Director, said
tonight that the report on this morn-
ing's "Today" program would, if true,
be a violation of a taw forbidding publi-
cation ofcommunications intelligence.
Mr. Casey has said several times in
recent weeks that he believed the Rea-
gan Administration should prosecute
news organizations that violate the
laws protecting information related to
national security. The Justice Depart-
ment said tonight it would have no
comment.
? Report on Spy Suspect
~~ The report, by James Polk, an NBC
correspondent, discussed the activities
of Ronald w. Pelton, a former em-
ployee of the National Security Agency,
who went on trial today on espionage
charges in Federal District Court in
Baltimore. He is accused of giving
Soviet agents information about efforts
by the National Security Agency to in-
tercept communications within the
Soviet Union.
In a transcript of the broadcast as re-
leased by NBC, Mr. Polk said: "Pelton
apparently gave away one of the ~
N.S.A.'s most sensitive secrets, a
~ project with the code name ivy Bells
believed to be atop-secret eavesdrop-
ping program by American subma-
rines inside Soviet harbors."
The code name Ivy Bells has been
mentioned around Washington for
some time, but the NBC report was not
be independently confirmed tonight.
On the question o[ whether the broad-
casting or publication of secret infor-
mation presumably already in the
hands of the Soviet Union could harm
i the United States, the C.LA. has
argue.l that news reports could provide
further confirmation to the Soviet
[,'nion that the information was accu- ~
rate.
'Statutory Obligations'
!n his statement, Mr. Casey said:
"We believe that the assertions, if true, ',
made by James Polk on the NBC Today
show violate the prohibitions in 18
U.S.C. 798 against publishing any clas-
sified information concerning the com-
munications inteligence activities of
the United States. My statutory obliga- ,
tion to protect intelligence sources and
methods requires me to refer this mat-
ter to the Department of Justice." ~
The law, passed in 1950, bars publics-
tion of any information relating to
codes and intelligence gathered
through intercepted communications.
In one of its broadest provisions, it pro-
hibits disclosure of communications by
foreign governments if they were ob-
tained through interception.
No news organizations have ever
been prosecuted under this statute.
The tip [hat lead to the investigation
of Mr. Pelton came tram Vitaly Yur-
chenko, aformer official of the K.G.B.,
the Soviet intelligence agency who de-
fected to the West. Mr. Yurchenko sub- !
sequently returned to the Soviet Union,
charging he was kidnaped and tortured
by the Central Intelligence Agency.
But Amertcan officials have concluded
he was a defector who changed his
mind.
According to court papers, Mr Pelton
was overheard talking to Mr. Yur-
chenko in one of the phone calls inter?
cepted by American authorities in 1980.
Judge Murray began questioning
prospective jurors today about their af-
filiation with the military, the United
States government, and local law en-
forcement agencies. He said he would
question them individually in his cham-
bers.
The jurors were asked to fill out
questionnaire in which they were asked
to identify, among other things, which
newspapers they read, which television
news shows they watched, and the
names of their three favorite television
shows.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000707060062-7