Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00 \BDUL KARIM OBEID ud to he talking to Israelis ey By Jackson Diehl Washington Post Foreign Service JERUSALEM, Aug. = Abdul Karim Obeid, the Shiite Moslem cleric held by Israel since last month, has told interrogators that two of the three soldiers for whom Israel hoped to exchange him are already dead, informed sources said today. Military authorities are not con- vinced that Obeid is telling the truth and continue to wait for de- finitive evidence about the fate of the soldiers, who were captured by the Hezbollah movement in south- ern Lebanon more than three years ago, the sources said. However, the sheik’s assertion and reports from Lebanon that tend to back it up appear to have dealt a serious blow to Israel’s hope of realizing what it says was its primary aim in capturing Obeid, The seizure of the cleric in a commando raid July 28 on his Leb- anese village touched off a crisis involving Western hostages in Leb- anon that has now involved the United States, Iran and Syria as well as Israel and Hezbollah, A Hezbollah-linked group claimed that it killed one American hos- tage, Marine Lt. Col. William Hig- gins, in retaliation for Obeid’s de- tention. Nevertheless, senior Israeli of- ficials have said repeatedly that the Obeid operation was conceived and executed primarily as a way of set- ting up an exchange for two infan- trymen, Yossi Fink and Rahamin Sheikh, and airman Ron Arad, whose plane was shot down over Lebanon in October 1986. Since his capture, Israel has alleged that Obeid was the chief of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and oversaw the abduction of Fink and Sheikh in February 1986, Today, military spokesmen did not directly deny the report of the two soldiers’ deaths but said that Israel would continue to consider its prisoners to be alive unless it m Hope ebbs for hostage release; U.S. unsure if Iran wants talks. Page Alo receives documentary proof the are dead from an official sourc| such as the Red Cross. “We don’t want to have a publi debate about this delicate issue] said army spokesman Efrairh Lapide. He added: “From time t} time there are stories and pieces d information concerning Israeli pris oners of war published in Arab me dia and Western media. We have t4 see these pieces of information a part of the psychological warfard carried on nowadays.” Israeli observers said reports o the soldiers’ deaths, which firs appeared today in the London Sun day Times, may undermine Israel’ position in the complex process o| See ISRAEL, A16, Col. 1 Israelis Reported Two Soldiers Ar ISRAEL, From A1 bargaining over hostages now un- der way. Last week, Hezbollah offered to free one of the eight U.S. hostages in Lebanon, Joseph Cicippio, in ex- change for Shiite and Palestinian prisoners in Israel but said the Is- raeli prisoners could not be freed. Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin replied that Israel would make no exchange that excluded its three soldiers and that Hezbollah must provide evidence to the Red Cross on the condition of both the West- ern and Israeli hostages as a first step in any negotiation. Israeli commentators said that if the two soldiers are considered dead, the government could face more pressure from the United States to agree to a bargain involv- ing only American or Western hos- tages. Such a bargain might have little to compensate Israelis for the re- lease of prisoners who have been involved in terrorist acts or the ongoing Arab uprising in the occu- pied territories. Senior military officials have said that following the disappear- ance of Fink and Sheikh while on patrol in southern Lebanon, Israel repeatedly tried and failed to find Lebanese contacts who could pro- vide reliable information on their condition and bargain for their release. The seemingly dead end in intelligence and quiet diploma- Told Dead diess, informed Israeli y confirmed that at the two soldiers was to have been wound- e incident that led to ion. There has long sources to least one 0 been know ed during their abdu that only one of the ains alive, sources said, told his both soldiers died of rtly after their cap- one source said that not publicly concede ’ deaths as long as proof was}|Mot provided. Other- wise, the sHurce said, the govern- risk sealing the fate Sheikh in the event ill alive. say they are dead, the ill have no reason to keep them[] the source said. The Sunffay Times quoted Arab djsaying that a photo- e two soldiers, each ravenous tube in his en published in a Bei- @ days after their dis- but that both men y dead when the pic- ture was|j taken. The Israeli sources 8. they were unaware of the pict fre. The neffspaper also said the fifthe soldiers were in- formed bythe military that their of Fink o: they were “Once we terrorists were alre sons were believed to be dead. However, both families told the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot today that they received no such report. Israel radio reported that army commanders had called the fam- ilies and told them not to regard the public report of the deaths as definitive. The account by Obeid marks the second time that the cleric has been reported by Israeli sources as providing information that un- dermines the military’s rationale in seizing him. Two weeks ago, Obeid was quoted by a senior Is- raeli official as saying that he be- lieved Higgins was alive at the time of the sheik's arrest. Israel maintains that Higgins was” not executed at the time claimed by his captors but rather many months earlier, Senior Israeli officials have said that Obeid is being held in isola- ‘Israeli soldiers Rahamin Sheikh, left, and Yossi Fink were on patrol in gouthern Lebanon in 1986 when captured by Shiite guerrillas of Hezbollah. tion and questioned by a team of interrogators. They said he has not been informed of develop- ments since his arrest and is un- aware of the dramatic announce- ment of Higgins’s death and sub- sequent negotiations over the hostages. Israeli officials have maintained that Obeid has proved a highly valuable source of information and that his interrogation has shown him to be a key figure in Hezbol- lah and in its links with Iran. However, sources in the Arab ' world and some Israeli experts | have discounted those claims, say- ing that Obeid was more a spir- itual figure than a military com- mander and that his importance diminished considerably following the curtailment of Hezbollah’s power in southern Lebanon last year in battles with the rival Amal! militia, Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3 CPYRGHT
Tht WasutncTon Post WORLD NEWS North Korea’s Isolation Seen Dangerous for Its Foes U.S. Officials Say They Fear Jetliner’s Sabotage May Not Be Pyongyang’s Last Attempt to Disrupt Olympics Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : = - Tuesbay, FEBRUARY 23, 1988 A17 Documents show Meese’s actions “enti Marine Spoke Of Past Post, Sources Say Higgins May Have Drawn Attention er sources close to the U.N. oper- don there. “Higgins presented himself 23 a z of, super envoy, as Cap Wein- eading demands of the arganiz~ = ion, which included release of pris- | See MARINE, A18, Col. 1 | CPYRGHT CPYRGHT political situation would be very, ry deteriorated,” he said. Like its students abroad, North IKorea has long been one of the ortd's most closed societies. Now is more isolated than at azy time recent years, and in that isola- pre planning something, o tebe ives. oerabtnae According to interviews with an- RIO DE JANEIRQ—Smtro—* month. Its military advantage i eroding and may be gane. Last week the Onited Nations condemned North Korea, saying it had masterminded the sabotage of a civilian South Korean airliner fall, in which all 115 aboard killed. North Korea's effort to stage a boy-| cott of the Summer Olympic games! in Seoul, Cuba, and Nica- ragua have declined invitations to attend the Olympics, The Sey- chelies and Albania did not respond. Now Pyongyang’s leaders must; watch as South Korea prepares to} host those September games, cel: ebrating its coming of age aad: threatening to tag North Korea as perpetual Tunner-up in the 40-year- ‘old contest to be recognized a3 the real Korea. state of Rio de Janeiro. Earlier this month, rains devastated the moun- tain town of Petropolis, Brazil's old "tom the Portue CPYRGHT Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3 Many in the West find it puzzling, almost beyond belief, that North Korea would think that sabotaging a civilian airliner could further its cause, Similar disbelief has been expressed in the past, when North : Korean ageats killed South Korean Cabinet_members, tried to assas- Bat Pyar in Ta Koceaa resident here, who worked for a pro-North newspaper far 10 years and now the ii Korea publishes Report, said be believes North Ko- Tea was responsible for the airlin- er’s destruction. He said such acts sshould come as no sarpeise. “North Korea views the Otympics a8 a grave threat to its national se- the Korean War of 1950-53 “has not ended.” U.S. officials said that they fear the destruction of Korean Air flight 858 last November may not be North Korea’s last attempt to dis- rupt the games. font know, but you shoul assume that whatever The difficulty is that western of- ficials know remarkably little about North Korea and the loogest ruling Jeader of the communist world, Kim Il Sung. They interview the occa- sional defector, they listen to re- ports from business executives and journalists who are invited oa highly circumscribed visits, they study the | Or Risk Dy Patrick B, Tyler ‘Workington Poet Foceign Service DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 22—The U.S. Navy, which sailors, The Navy delegation was dis- patched after an Iraqi long-range ; Tul6 bomber fired two powerful waiti tankers on the night of Feb. 12, Under rules worked out between ing and control system (AWACS) « CPYRGHT
Weather ( foday: Hazy, hot and humid. High = -- 18, Low 78, Wind 6-12 mph. sunday: Partly sunny, hot, possible hunderstorm, High 94. ‘esterday: AQI: 95. Temperature ange: 73-96. Details on Page B2. Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3 ? ie a [11TH YEAR No. 238 Optimism Voiced on Gulf Talks [raqi ‘Brinkmanship’ May Cause Additional Sessions, Official Says By Patrick E. Tyler Washington Past Foreign Service UNITED NATIONS, July 29— Vegotiations on a cease-fire to end he Iran-Iraq war reached a critical soint tonight as senior U.N. officials ‘oiced optimism they had crafted a alan that would be acceptable to roth sides. U.N. Secretary General Javier erez de Cuellar said earlier in the , lay he was “very, very pleased” vith the talks he held with the for- 2ign ministers of the warring coun- ‘ries and said negotiations were ing in the right direction” to ind a comproniise’on one of the nain stumbling blocks—Baghdad’s jemand for early, face-to-face yeace talks with Iran. But tonight, after the secretary general's final meeting of the day vith Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, a senior U.N. negotiator said lraq was engaging in what he de- scribed as “brinkmanship,” and he iow expected the talks to carry wer into next week, Aziz made no comment to reporters as he left the Jnited Nations tonight. Tran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Velayati, said after a one-hour ses- sion with Perez de Cuellar that he iad been presented with a “new and inal proposal” on the cease-fire. Velayati said his reaction to the lat- 2st plan was generally positive and that he would consider it further defore responding on Saturday. “I think we will reach our aim of naving a cease-fire very soon,” Se- curity Council President Paulo No- gueira-Batista told reporters this afternoon, discounting reports that the cease-fire talks being sponsored here had reached a deadlock. “Things are going well,” Batista said, adding that, “one should not be alarmed by difficulties which may be faced at this stage of the negotia- tions.” The secretary gerjeral also met this morning with the ‘wife of U.S, peace-keeping duty in southern Leb- anon last February, Robin Higgins, who is a Marine major, also ad- Mressed the Security Council, thank- ng and demanding Higgins’ release, Higgins is thought to be held by a pro-[ranian group in Lebanon, U.N. officials meanwhile | ex- pressed optimism that Higging’ re- lease might be secured in thénear uture as a conciliatory gesture by ran to the United Nations for its ole in bringing about an end to the long-running war. Officials added hat Iran was motivated by the like- thood that U.N, forces may be nec- Pssary to monitor a future truce between Iran and Iraq. But Perez de Cuellar said there See GULF, A20, Col. 1 CPYRGHT © 1988, The Washington Post Company A20 Sarurpay, Jucy 30, 1988 Robin Higgins, wife of kidnaped Marine Lt. Col. William R. Higgins, meets with oe Perez de Cuellar, U.N. Security Council yesterday condemned Higging’ abduction. U.N. Officials Optimistic. On Gulf Cease-Fire Plan GULF, From Al was no credible confirmation of Hig- gins’ whereabouts or of the rumors that Iran was working to free him, “I would be delighted if you are right” about reports of his release, he told one reporter, “But I have no reason, unfortunately, for thinking that he will be released soon.” Still, U.N. officials were looking O e & move py. d would secure the release of gins. Another eight Americans are believed held captive by Hezbollah (Party of God), a radical Lebanese Shiite Moslem group that is fi- nanced by Iran. “Iran wants a U.N. peace-keeping force” as part of the ceasé-fire, one western diplomat’ here said, “and Higgins was a member of a U.N. peace-keeping force,” Robin Higgins wore civilian clothes to her meetings at the Unit- ed Nations today, a move that was interpreted by diplomats here as stressing her husband’s connection to the United Nations and not to the U.S. Marines. Today’s cease-fire negotiations turned on finding a way for Iran and Iraq to agree on the timing of the cease-fire. The agreement must satisfy Iran’s demand that the cease-fire be implemented without preconditions while meeting Iraq’s demand that direct peace talks be conducted. Velayati appeared to open the -way for a compromise by signaling new flexibility this evening on hold- ing direct talks with Iraq. “We do hope that, after the acceptance of the D-Day and the establishing of a cease-fire and the withdrawal of forces from both sides to the inter- national border and exchange of POWs, the face-to-face talks in an acceptable level could be consid- ered positively,” he said. D-Day is the term that Perez de Cueilar has used in describing the date when a cease-fire would com- mence and soldiers would remain in their own territory. Meanwhile, an Iranian rebel guerrilla group, trained and equipped by Iraq gave up its drive to take the Iranian provincial capital of Bakhtaran after a three-day cam- paign that reportedly took its Na- tional Liberation Army (NLA) forces nearly 100 miles into Iran, that _ the deepest penetration of the war. ig="""“{In' Washington, Aladin Touran, a representative of the National Lib- ; eration Army's umbrella group, the | People’s Mujaheddin of Iran, denied a report in The Washington Post on Friday that Iraqi forces had turned over captured Iranian weapons that the group used to seize territory near Bakhtaran, Washington Post staff writer Chris Adams reported. {Iraq “played no role in this of- fensive,” Touran told reporters. The Washington Post story “is not at all true. ... I can say flatly, I reject it.”} There were conflicting accounts of why the NLA drive had ended. Iranian rebel spokesmen said their forces were making a planned with- drawal, and Iranian military author- ities said they smashed the offen- sive and were chasing the rebels back toward the Iraqi frontier. In Baghdad, where the Mujahed- din is based, spokesman Ali Reza Jafaarzedeh told news agency re- porters that the withdrawal “is al- most complete, and no major fight- ing is taking place now.” But a different accounting of the offensive was given by Iran's par- liament speaker, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who led the Friday pray- er service at Tehran University today, Rafsanjani acknowledged that the opposition forces got to within 22 miles of their objective at Bakhtaran, but he characterized Tran’s response as laying a trap for the Mujaheddin, . CPYRGHT CPYRGHT Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3
7 eee hee 2000/08/08 “et oP6600789R000400040001 3 Longo Shiite Captors Release West German Hostage Link to Hammadi Brothers’ Case Asserted By Nora Boustany Washington Poat Foreign Service BEIRUT, Sept. 12~~West Ger- man hostage Rudolf Cordes was released here tonight by his pro- Tranian Shiite Moslem abductors after 24 manths in captiyity, Leb- anese Interior Minister Abdullah Rassy announced. Cordes, 55, a businessman em- ployed by the Hoechst pharmaceu- ticals firm, was neatly dressed and clean-shaven and was reported in good health and spirits, He was ta- ken to Damascus by Syrian military authorities to be turned over to West German officials on Tuesday, The group holding Cordes said in a message earlier today that it was freeing him “because of guarantees for a settlement” of the cases of two Lebanese brothers held by West Germany as terrorists, including Mohammed Ali Hammadi, now on trial in Frankfurt in the 1985 hijack- ing of a TWA jetliner and the mur- der of a U.S. serviceman. A note from Cordes before his release to- day also urged that West Germany “please do everything regarding Mohammed.” West German officials questioned HOSTAGE, From A18 Syrian officials here and a seniq figure in the pro-Iranian Hezbolld movement professed surprise as fh series‘of statements from the ca tors, called the Strugglers for Fre dom, announced the impending r lease today. Some analysts said they saw t development as an indication th fate of western hostages in Leb: non. At least 17 foreigners are st believed to be held hostage her including three Britons and ni Americans. Abdel. Hadi Hammadi, the olde brother of the Hammadis held j Germany and a senior military o ficial in the Hezbollah comman structure in Lebanon, reported! was surprised by the natificatio today and went to Syrian-controlle’ Baalbek to consult with his orga! ization’s leadership; ‘A’ senior’ Hezbollah aidé sai Abdel Hadi Hamadei was “furioug and rushed there “in a huff to fin out what was going on.” Hammad who reportedly has led Iran’s ca paign of abducting foreigners i Lebanon, was said to be eager t see his brothers out safely befor Cordes was released. Hezbollah sources said, howeve; that the Strugglers for Freedon were operating “independently and following orders directly from Teh ran, disregarding the local’ scenq here, including the Syrians.” It was unclear why Ragsy wag chosen by Syria to play a key role i dealing with Cordes after the ab. ductors released him. But observ. ers noted that the interior ministed . is the son-in-law of former presi dent Suleiman Franjieh, Syria’s cho sen candidate in Lebanon’s ‘ap proaching presidential _ elections. House Speaker Hussein Hussei: Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3 CPYRGHT ~ .. RUDOLF CORDES «+ held captive since January 1987 Bonn, however, said: they were aware of any concessions having been made in the case and diplomatic Sources there said they were confi- dent there had been no promises of lenient treatment. High West Ger- an and, Iranian. officials: have: held Several meetings in recent,days. See HOSTAGE, A23, Col, 1 Reldace W. Gemhan Seized 20 Months Ago today set Sept. 22 for convening | what his captors called “a goad-will the parliament -to elect a successor | gesture.” a to President Amin’ Gemayel, whose term ends the next day. Rassy quoted Cordes as saying, - “The kidnapers dropped mein a “'* street. I went to a house in the area and told them, ‘I am the hostage « Rudolf Cordes,’ and asked for help. The people of the house immediate- ly called the Lebanese police, who came for me.” The captors had issued ‘three Statements through news outlets today promising Cordes’ release within hours and asking for the West German and Iranian ambas- sadors and a representative of Syr- ian President Hafez Assad to gather to await him. ; The first message was accompa- nied by a note, handwritten in Ger- |- man and signed by Cordes, and the | third was accompanied. by a photo- graph of Cordes, : ‘I shall be freed on-.Monday (12.9.88),” the note ‘from Cordes j said. “Please inform my family, but | please do everything regarding Mo- ’ hammed " [Ali Hammadi]. Please help the hostages—several are ex- pecting something now, especially ‘ since I am being released.” The |ft note was addressed to the “govern- In ment of the Federal Republic of Germany.” The final statement from the cap- tors said: “We do not wish to be hostile to the German government and out of respéct for the sincere calls by [Syrian] President Hafez Assad and the Islamic Iranian gov- ernment, and because of guarantees for a settlement of the Hammadi brothers problem, we announce that the German Cordes will be re- leased within 12 hours,” : West German businessman Al- fred Schmidt, also abducted by Iran- backed ‘extremists here in -Januares 1987, was freed: last September'in” CPYRGHT RS RR tite ati ‘teas RR ON EP ETL HE os