CIA DENIES A ROLE IN BEIRUT BOMBING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00587R000100260027-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 24, 2011
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: May 14, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00587R000100260027-6
Q-JEAREO
l A. ? WASHINGTON TIME'
PV-;r 14 May 1985
STAT
CIA denies a role
in Beirut bombing
HE Roger Fontaine
HE WASHINGTON TIMES
rare direct statement on intel-
ligence operations, the Central Intel-
ligence Agency yesterday strongly
denied any connection, direct or
indirect, with the March 8 bombing
of a Shi'ite leader's residence in Bei-
rut.
The connection was alleged by
The Washington Post on Sunday -
that a CIA-trained counterterrorist
ry+ rorist actions in response to Sun-
day's Post report. United Press
International, quoting State Depart-
ment sources, said a message was
sent under "standard notification
procedures" urging U.S. officials to
be wary of retaliatory attacks.
The CIAs official three-sentence
statement said the agency "never
conducted any training of Lebanese
security forces related to the events
described in The Washington Post's
article on 12 May 1985. It also had no
foreknowledge of the Lebanese
counterterrorist action mentioned
in the article:'
The Post story cited sources ques-
tioning whether the CIA had fully
briefed the congressional oversight
committees on the agency's pur-
ported connection with the Leba-
nese group.
In response to that, the agency
statement said, "The CIA scrupu-
lously observes the requirements to
keep all the congressional oversight.
committees appropriately
informed"
The New York Times, quoting
unidentified administration offi-
cials, reported yesterday that a
Lebanese unit in touch with the CIA
hired on its own the group that car-
ried out the bombing.
A source with knowledge of the
Lebanon counterterrorist program
told The Washington Times yester-
day: "The United States has been
giving some security assistance -
anti-terrorist training. in terms of
talk and weapons, but mostly talk -
to the Lebanese government.
"These people apparently went
out and talked to some others, who
bombed some of their enemies.
What we have here is, if at all, a third-
hand connection between the United
States government, the Lebanese
with whom the United States govern-
ment spoke, and the Lebanese who
did the bombing:' he said. .
None of The Times' sources could
say whether information or material
that was given to the Lebanese gov-
ernment was transferred to the
grouv that carried out the bombing.
group in Lebanon went on a "run-
away mission" in which it hired
another Lebanese group to carry out
a car-bombing that killed more than
80 people.*
The denial strongly echoed what
a U.S. official with close knowledge
of the counterterrorist program in
Lebanon told The Washington Times
Sunday..
"It had nothing to do with our
operation;" he said.
The official said The Post's
"attempt to portray a malevolent
connection is both distorted and
incorrect" He said the story was
laced with distortions, but he
refused to be specific, owing, he
said, to the sensitivity of the ques-
tion.
Other administration sources yes-
terday told The Times that the story
had endangered the lives of
Americans in the Middle East.
Said one official:
"The Washington Post has put the
lives of every American in Lebanon
in jeopardy.... I find it utterly con-
temptible. ... It invites retaliation
against every American in Beirut -
including women and children. They
[The Post] did it with foreknowledge
of that possibility.
"They were warned, he said,
angrily
A Washington Post editor declined
comment last night, referring
Times' questions to Managing Edi-
tor Leonard Downie Jr., who was not
available.
Meanwhile, the State Department
yesterday alerted U.S. diplomatic
outposts worldwide of possible ter-
At the same time, there was no
immediate comment from the target
of the March 8 bombing - Shi'ite
Moslem cleric Mohammed Hussein
Fadlallah, leader of the pro-Iranian
Hezbollah (the Party of God). But in
statements immediately after the
explosion, the Muslim cleric had'
made clear he would hold
Americans and Israelis responsible.
"This Islamic popular funeral
should stress the Islamic will to
show our rejection of all Israeli and
American savagery;" Mr. Fadlallah
said at a mass funeral the day after
the bombing. A "Made in U.S.A."
banner was draped by his support-
ers on an apartment block destroyed
by the car-bomb.
Mr. Fadlallah also has denied that
Hezbollah is holding five Americans
missing in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, another source with
direct knowledge of the U.S. coun-
terterrorist program in Lebanon
said all leaks of information that
were the basis for The Post story
came from within the CIA. None of
the leaks, this source said, came
from within Congress.
"In fact, the United States govern-.
ment does not fund hit teams,
directly or indirectly. But what peo-
ple within the intelligence agencies
have done here is to suggest that
because some of the people with
whom we were in contact fought for
their lives as best as they saw fit, that
we were somehow indirectly fund-
ing these activities;' he said.-
The United States, he said, has
always been in the business of
training forces, but "at a certain
point, [U.S. trained forces] are on
their own"
Criticism of the CIA, however.
continued to grow, particularly
among Democrats, echoing the "hit
squad" theme.
"Where is the wisdom in financ-
ing hit squads in the Middle East.
which is already a hair trigger?"
asked Rep. Patricia Schroeder of
Colorado. "Do we think that this
would help the view of Americans
that led to the bombing of our bar-
racks in Beirut? Is this a wise use of
our tax dollars?"
Rep. Schroeder and Rep. Don
Edwards of California, Democratic
members of the House Judiciary
subcommittee with jurisdiction over
terrorism issues, asked the House to
support their resolution that the CIA
GSTit u ~..tW
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2.0
be ordered to provide the House
with documents and factual infor-
mation about the training and sup-
port of covert counterterrorist units.
Meanwhile, the vice chairman of
the Senate Oversight Intelligence
committee, Patrick Leahy of Ver-
mont, a Democrat, said his commit-
tee would examine "six or seven
operations on our own:'
Sen. David Durenberger of Min-
nesota, the Republican chairman of
the Senate Intelligence Committee,
said that his panel "already has'
plans to take a detailed look at the
intelligence community's policy and
action on counterterrorism:'
The administration received
some support for counterterrorist
operations in hearings conducted
L yesterday by Sen. Jeremiah Denton
of Alabama, a Republican, chairman
of the Judiciary Committee's secu-
rity and terrorism subcommittee.
Ray S. Cline. former deputy direc-
tor of the CIA who is now a fellow at
the Center for Strategic and Interna-
tional Studies at Georgetown Uni-
versity,. said that Soviet "proxy
states feel so comfortable. We could
sober up that whole question by
some carefully selected responses:'
Mr. Cline said in most cases he
favored economic retaliation, such
as blockades, but also suggested
"covert action to spoil or pre-empt
terrorist action, which should be
done without publicity."
But, he said, the United States has
"not found the countermeasures that
will protect us from this danger. It is
a free lunch for those who support
this type of violence."
Meanwhile, stung by congres-
sional and other criticism, the Rea-
gan administration modified its
initial policy of avoiding all com-
ment on the story.
- "I certainly have no comment;'
State Department spokeswoman
Anita Stockman said early Sunday.
"You're talking about intelligence
matters and our policy is not to com-
ment about intelligence matters"
But by Sunday night, the State
Department had issued a stronger
statement. The same spokesman
said: "I can affirm that we do not
undertake any activities which are
inconsistent with the law.
"The security of our personnel
and other Americans overseas is
continually a matter under review.
We take every appropriate measure
to help- insure their safety," she
.
added.` .,: , ,,
That was followed yesterday
morning with the CIA statement.
--,White House' officials,',however,
continue publicly to refrain from
comment.
I Meanwhile, UPI reported from
Beirut that a Lebanese Cabinet min-
ister said yesterday he doubted there
would be any investigation of the
March 8 blast by his government,
I Education and Labor Minister
Selim Hoss, a Sunni Muslim,. said,
"We all know that such explosions
are arranged by foreign services',
and especially Israeli intelligence
services, because catastrophes
benefit those who have an interest at
stake' Tom Diaz contributed to this
report. -
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