WORLD NOTES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90B01390R000500590014-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 9, 2011
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: February 25, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/06/09: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000500590014-6
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/06/09: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000500590014-6
 ,,,,fir' Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/06/09: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000500590014-6
World Notes
A Bridgehead to Fao
The timing of the assault was hardly
unexpected. For the past two years the
Iranian army has launched a major
rainy-season offensive across the marsh-
lands of Al Huwaiza. north of the Iraqi
city of Basra on the Shatt al Arab water-
way. This year, on the anniversary of the
day the Ayatullah Khomeini took pow-
er in 1979, the Iranians struck again In
the past. superior Iraqi armor and air
power have repulsed waves of often
youthful Iranian invaders. This time
Iranian troops undertook a surprise of-
fensive farther south. enabling Iran to claim at least a momen-
tary psychological victory in the 5t/,-year-old war.
By moving troops across the broad waterway. the Iranians
were able to seize Fao. a deserted oil port badly damaged early in
the war. and Umm al Rassas. an island about 40 miles from Bas-
ra Iraq conceded that Iranian forces had established "a shaky
foothold" in its territory but warned that the venture "faced a
gloomy fate." At week's end the ultimate success of the Iranian
assault was uncertain But it was clear that whatever the out-
come. the price would be high. Thus far the battle has claimed
thousands of casualties on both sides.
The Show Trial That Fizzled
Inside the Gdansk courtroom, the judge began trial proceed-
ings last week with a few routine questions. He asked the defen-
dant's profession (electromechanic): his salary ($85 a month):
and if he had any decorations. He did. including the Nobel Prize
for Peace. and he had once been the leader of the banned Soli-
darity trade union. The defendant. Lech Walesa. was in court to
i answer charges that be had slandered members of several re-
gional electoral commissions. His alleged crime issuing est-
mates of voter turnout in Poland's parliamentary balloting last
October that were lower than government figures
Presumably, the regime of General Wojciech Jaruzelski had
hoped that it could intimidate Walesa and his followers. But the
Warsaw government backtracked
when it became clear that the trial
was turning out more absurd than in-
timidating. Invited by the judge to
find an amicable solution, the state
prosecutor offered to withdraw the
charges if Walesa would make a
statement that satisfied the commis-
sion members. Responded Walesa:
"I had no intention of humiliating
anyone "With that. the case was dis-
missed. Walesa noted that the com-
promise outcome was a "sign of
hope "
I COUNTERTERRORISM
Operation Hydrofoiled
police at first theorized that the sabotage was the work of an anti-
Arafat group No such luck Israeli undercover agents made it
known last week that they were responsible for the blasts
each with
f
il
h
h
d
h
ro
o
s.
at t
e
y
Israel. it seems. was convinced t
a capacity of 150 passengers. had been sent to Messina to be fit-
ted with guns and armor plating so they could be used to ferry
Fatah guerrillas into the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
from which they were driven b) Israeli troops in 1982. The plan.
say the Israelis. was for Fatah fighters to make a dash for the
Lebanese coast from Cyprus on the high-speed hydrofoils under
cover of night. And how did the Israeli spooks who foiled the
plan smuggle bombs into Italy? "You just come in as a tourist
and bring what you need." said one source "There are a lot of
sophisticated ways of smuggling things in these days."
WAR CRIMINALS
Long-Delayed Date with Justice
Half-blind. senile. and
emaciated from heart dis-
ease. Andrija Artukovic
seemed oblivious as U.S.
marshals bundled him
aboard a JAT airlines flight
to Yugoslavia last week. Only
after staring hard at an illu-
minated sign in the plane
that read FASTEN YOUR SEAT
BELT in Serbo-Croatian did
Artukovic, 86. speak. Said he.
"Now I know where I'm going." Indeed. his destination was a
long-delayed date with justice. As Interior Minister in the pup-
pet Nazi state of Croatia during World War II. Artukovic was
known as the Butcher of the Balkans and held responsible for the
murder of as many as 700,000 Serbs. Jews. Gypsies and others.
1 Artukovic took advantage of U.S. cold-war hostility toward
Yugoslavia. among other things. to fend off extradition requests
that began in 1951. He used false papers to emigrate to the U.S. in
1948. after first traveling to Italy. Switzerland and Ireland Anu-
kovic lived in California unt his 1984 arrest and worked as a
bookkeeper. The extradition order came less than an hour after
U.S Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist denied the aged
Nazi's request for a stay. Unless his health prevent- him from be-
ing tried for his crimes, his fate in. Yugoslavia could be execution
FRANCE i
Care for a Frog Tart, Monsieur?
When it comes to the size of his portions. the avid French
gourmet usually avoids the gargantuan in favor of the petit. The
merest taste of his favorite cuisine. he reasons. ought to be suffi-
cient. No more. Last week French chefs banded together to chal-
lenge the world record for the longest buffet. The result of their
labors: an 846-ft. table filled with an appetizing array of food
The creation was unveiled during a Mardi Gras celebration at
the World Tourism and Travel Show in Paris and offered dishes
representing all the departments of France. including the Indian
Ocean island of Reunion. Two hundred chefs served up their
specialties by the meter.
Some of the more interesting delicacies on the menu: pigs'
feet cassoulet. beaver confit, stuffed goose's neck. eel gratin and
frog tart. Other attractions were a 4-ft. 5-in. candied Eiffel Tow-
Near dawn on Jan. 30. explosions rocked the Rodriguez Ship-
yards at Messina. Sicily. When the smoke cleared, two Palestin-
ian-owned hydrofoil ferries were at the bottom of the harbor. Be-
cause the operator of the hydrofoils is known to be a supporter of
Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization,
er. a 10-ft. vegetarian paella dish and a gigantic cooking pot 10 ft.
in diameter and 5 ft. deep. The buffet organizers topped off the
pot presentation with a pinch of culinary cuteness: they had a
jazz band called Haricots Rouges (translation: Red Beans) play
music on top of it.
48 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/06/09: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000500590014-6'ESRUARY 24. 19RE?