CPYRGHT ~~ Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : ClA-RyYP94-00789R000400040001-3 tion chief of the CIA (kidnaped March 16, 1984), the Rev. Benjamin Weir, a Presby- terian missionary (kidnaped May 8, 1984), and eventually David Jacobsen, di- rector of American University Hospital {kidnaped May 28, 1985). The hostages are repeatedly threat- ened with death. Their meals consist of Arabic bread, foul-tasting cheese and tea. Buckley’s treatment reveals the full cruel- ty of the kidnapers. He catches a bad cold that develops into pneumonia, but the guards show him no mercy. “Mr. Buckley is dying,” Father Jenco pleads one day. “He is sick. He has dry heaves. Give us liquids.” Speaking to one another in whispers, the hostages listen to Buckley’s moans as he grows weaker, and finally delirious. On June 3, Buckley squats on the tile floor be- lieving that he is sitting on a toilet seat, and food fantasies fill his head. “I'd like some poached eggs on toast, please.” he mumbles. “Pd like an order of pancakes.” That night Buckley starts making strange grunts and the others realize they are hearing the rattle of death, and a guard comes and drags Buckley’s bady away. Anderson’s first letter to his family con- tains his last will and testament. Out of the blue comes hope. At the end of June Anderson learns that TWA Flight 847 has been hijacked and 39 American passengers are being held. Hajj, the chief guard, arrives with word that a package deal is in the works. “You will be going home,” he says. Nothing happens. The guards, how- ever, improve living conditions for An- derson and the others, apparently in fear they might fall sick and die like Buckley. “Christmas in July” brings dinner of Swiss steak, vegetables and fruit, medical checkups by a kidnaped Lebanese Jewish doctor, and the chance to start worshiping together. Anderson, once a lapsed Catho- lic whose faith now grows stronger by the day, wheedies permission from Hajj to make his confession to Father Jenco. Lat- er, all the hostages are allowed to hold FEB. ’87 daily services in their “Church of the Locked Door.” They celebrate Commu- nion with scraps of Arabic bread. Ander- son tells the guards to shut up when they mock the Christian service. After the first worship, Pastor Weir reaches out and grasps Anderson, and the two men hug. Perhaps worried that the frail minister might be slipping, Anderson urges him to be strong. “Don’t give up,” he tells him. “Keep going.” Another new hostage has arrived, Thomas Sutherland, dean of agriculture at American University (kidnaped June 9, 1985). Eventually the captors permit their prisoners to be together all the time and to remove their blindfolds when the guards are out of the room. ne day in September. Hajj raises O everybody's hopes again by an- nouncing that a hostage will final- ly be released. He has them play a cruel game: they must choose for themselves who will go free. “Think il over,” he com- mands as he walks away. The hostages drag their agonizing dis- cussion late tnlo the night. Pastor Weir and Pather Jenco make no effort to put themselves forward, and Sutherland is too much ofa gentleman. But Anderson near- ly takes a swing at Jacobsen as the two men engage in a bitter contest to be cho- sen. Anderson wins the vote, but then is devastated when Hajj refuses to abide by the decision. “Terry Anderson will not be the first to be released,” he snaps. “Tle might be the last one.” A few nights later, Hajj tells Pastor Weir he is going home. On Christmas Eve the hostages hear on the radio that Church of England envoy Terry Waite has failed to negotiate their freedom, and has returned to London. An- derson is crushed. Father Jenco tries to sing carols but is too depressed. Jacobsen draws a crude Christmas tree on a piece of cardboard and sticks it on the wall. Anderson fights back boredom and de- pression by throwing himself into habits and hobbies. Each morning he obsessively cleans the sleeping mats and takes spirited 40-minute walks around and around the room. When he fashions a chess set from scraps of tinfoil, the guards take the game away. Anderson takes French lessons from Sutherland, and stays up all night reading the Bible and novels by Charles Dickens that the guards provide. After solitary confinement. the cama- raderic is energizing. From memory Suth- erland recites the poetry of his beloved Robert Burns, in the brogue of his native Scotland (he once played professional football with the Glasgow Rangers). Fa- ther Jenco takes the hostages on an imagi- nary tour of Rome and the Vatican. An- derson makes a deck of cards from paper scraps, and they all play cutthroat games of hearts. Like sophists, Anderson the liberal Democrat and Jacobsen the Reagan Re- publican constantly provoke each other into arguments to keep their minds alive. More than the others, Anderson chal- lenges the guards. although for some rea- son he is beaten less frequently. He goes on a seven-day hunger strike when they suddenly ban the radio and the occasional copies of the International Herald Tri- bune. He does not know it. but the news blackout ts imposed so he will net learn of the deaths of his father and brother back in the U.S. He does find out. however, that since his kidnaping his second daughter, Sulome, has been born. In July 1986 Father Jenco is freed. Ja- cobsen goes home in November. but the public revelation of a secret U.S. arms- for-hostages deal with Iran torpedoes any further releases. Two months later, Waite the mediator is himself kidnaped Feeling increasingly abandoned by his government, Anderson spends much of 1987 in isolation. In December he gets a new roommate, French diplomat Mar- cel Fontaine (kidnaped March 22. 1985). Anderson is denied permission to send out a videotaped Christmas message to his family. The frustration becomes un- bearable, and one day he walks over toa
wall and beats his head against it. Blood seeps from Anderson’s scalp. “Terry!” Fontaine pleads. “Think of your family!” All the hostages find the cruelty too much to take. Sutherland, who had gone to Beirut passionately hoping to help Leb- anese farmers, is treated worse than the others. He tries to kill himself by pulting a nylon sack over his head. A more recent kidnap victim, Frank Reed, director of the Lebanese International School (kid- naped Sept. 9, 1986), attempts to escape but is caught. The guards beat him vi- ciously and break his spirit, leaving him prostrate on the floor. In 1988 Anderson and Fontaine find themselves in an apartment that has car- peting, heat and hot food. Are they being fattened up in preparation for their re- lease? Despite the constant disappoint- ments, Anderson is determined to think about his future. He ponders quitting jour- nalism to take up farming. At last on May 3, after he has spent more than three years as a hostage, his time appears to have come when a guard tells him to get ready. “You should do the same as I’m do- ing,” Anderson says, trying to improve the Frenchman’s chances. At midnight they come and take Anderson away. Two hours later, Fontaine learns that it is he who is being freed. Fontaine remembers a conversation with Anderson. Feeling ill and more de- pressed than usual, he had turned to An- derson and said, “Terry, [am not afraid to die. But I don’t want to die here and have them throw my body into the sea like they did with Buckley.” Anderson thought for a moment and replied, “I don’t want to die anywhere.” Five months ago, Anderson’s most re- cent videotaped message was dropped off at a Western news agency in Beirut. Sign- ing off, he said to his family, “Kiss my daughters. Keep your spirits up, and I will try to do the same. One day soon, God willing, this willend.” —~ With reporting by William Dowell/Paris and Edwin M. Reingold/Los Angeles OCT.'S8 Anderson in his most recent videotape ehivat, igalso a prime suspect In the 1985 skyjacking of TWA Flight 647 The Man Who Holds the Hostages tis no secret who holds Terry Anderson. Imad Mughniyah is his name. He isa 38- year-old Lebanese leader of the Shi ‘ite fundamentalist group Hizballah whose his- tory of terrorism is grislier than the record of Palestinian renegade Abu Nidal. Mugh- niyah’s villainy, U.S. officials say, runs from bombings, like the suicide attacks on the US. embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut, to hijackings. He is a prime suspect in the US. for his alleged role in the 1985 skyjacking of TWA Flight 847 in which a Navy diver was murdered. And he has made a specialty of kidnaping: US. officials believe that Mughniyah. under the cloak of cover names like Islamic Jihad and the Revolutionary Justice Organization, has been involved in the kidnaping ofat least 31 Westerners since 1984 and that he continues to hold most of the 13 still in captivity. The kidnapers specifically wanted Terry Anderson. Fatefully, perhaps, the re- porter advertised his availability the day before his capture, when he ventured into Beirut’s southern suburbs to quiz Hizballah spiritual leader Sheik Mohammed Hus- sein Fadlallah. But Anderson’s colleagues at the Associated Press believe he may have put himselfon Hizballah’s blacklist as far back as 1983, when he traveled to their stronghold in Baalbek to grill Shi‘ite leaders about the bombing of the US. Marine barracks. The grandson ofa Shi‘ite mullah, Mughniyah trained with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization. A high school dropout, he excelled at terrorism; his boldness and quick grasp of explosives and weaponry impressed his commanders. But he fell out with Fatah leaders and in 1982, when Israeli troops invaded Lebanon and occupied his village, Teir Debbe, Mughniyah joined the newly formed and more radical Hizballah (Party of God). He took to wearing religious garb even as he recruited activists and professionals to the Shi‘ite cause. He rose quickly to the top of the organization, and-as security chief, Mughniyah is thought to be the group’s most powerful figure. He continues to hold the Westerners captive despite public pleas from Fadlallah that they be set free. His original motivation was to avenge the mistreatment of Shi‘ites in Lebanon and to vent his hatred of the U.S. and Israel. But U.S. sources say he has become obsessed with trying to secure the freedom of his brother-in-law Mustafa Badreddin and 16 other Shi‘ites jailed in Kuwait after a 1983 bombing blitz. Mughntyah launched his subsequent kidnaping and hijacking spree to spring the 17 in a prison- ers-for-hostages swap. Among his victims: William Buckley, the CIA station chief, who died in captivity. Muehniyah reportedly gets his financing from Tehran, and is considered Iran’s man in Lebanon; his closest mentors there include conservative leaders locked in rivalry with Iran’s would-be pragmatists. Even so, Mughniyah has been forced to free numerous American, French and West German hostages when it served Iran’s inter- ests, while his personal demands have never been met. Mughniyah seems content to bide his time until the U.S. breaks. But he has not tired of fitting ways to press Hizballah’s confrontation with the West. Britain’s Guardia ewspaper reported last month that he was busy organizing mass demon- stration... | BSS. 13311 OD-——-NOTTISAN ‘Lebanon. The cause: demanding Salman Rushdie’s death for writing The . 42 TIME. MARCIL 20.1 Approved F For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA- RDI 96- 0 789R000400040001 -3
Ja a Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3 Wepnespay, Fesruary 8, 1989 A35S THe WASHINGTON Post | lranian’s Unexpected Visit to Britain’ | Raises Hopes f for Progress on Hostages..,; HT De Tecthan ® Ba British or other hostages despite bassy in December after an eight- By Jonathan C. Randal . | renewed speculation-that Ayatollah. year break. But after Velayati met — Ruhollali ‘Khoméini might _make ‘with William Waldegrave, Howe’s LONDON, Feb. 7—Iranian For- || sich a gesture to mark his decade «= deputy, in Paris“last month, rela- eign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati]] in power in Tehran. tions cooled because of the Thatch- arrived here unexpectedly today|} Velayati’s sudden. appearance er government’s insistence that ‘and conferred with his British coun- here came:to light when a.London-:. progress. depended on: the release terpart-in' what'was seem"as’a pos- || datelined ‘dispatch’ from IRNA, of Coopér and the’ three Britons sible indication of thawing relations || Iran's official. news ‘agency, ‘an- . field-in Lebanon by the pro-tranian that could favor release of western ||‘nounced that while flying from Teh- Hezbollah faction. hostages held in Lebanon, by Pro- | ran to. Madrid, he. “was forced by ‘They are Terry Waite, the ‘Iranian groups. <* - bad weather to break his journey.”’ _ Church of England emissary séized . Diplomatic sources said that Ve- He was scheduled to confer with two years ago; journalist John Mc- layati’s visit-.itself—the first here || Spanish officials before’ attending | Carthy and teacher Brian Keenan. by an Iranian foreign minister since || U.N. discussionsin New York about ©  Velayati’s visit also renewed the Islamic revolution in Tehran 10]] the stalled implementation ofthe speculation that Kuwait might now years ago—outweighed the impor-|| Aug. 20 cease-fire ‘in the Persian be willing to drop its refusal to re- tance of his brief remarks after con- |] Gulf war. The IRNA: dispatch did - lease any of the 16 men convicted ferring : with Foreign; ;Secretary|| not say where the “bad « weather” - of attacks against Kuwaiti oil instal- Geoffrey Howe at the Foreign Of-]] occurred, but meteorologists” ré- .. lations:and the U.S. and French em- fice. ported clear weathér: in both the .. bassies in December 1984. , “All of us want to work for the|] British and Spanish capitals... . Sources following the situation of release of the hostages no matter Sources. here said Howe told his: the western hostages suggested” what their nationality,” he said, re-]] visitor. Britain was convinced ‘that . that Kuwait was considering such a iterating Iran’s position on western|| the three Iranians who Tehran in- ” gesture to thank the United Statés hostages, most of them British or]] sists are still alive were. killed. soon for protecting ‘Kuwaiti oil tankers CPYRGHT American, who are held by pro-|] after their abduction. ; .. during the final year of the Persian . Iranian groups in Lebanon, and on Howe expressed concern about . Gulf war. Some of the men held in three Iranians who disappeared in|] the fate of journalist Roger Cooper, Kuwait are related to prominent: Christian-held Lebanon in 1982," a longtime British resident of Iran _ pro-Iranian Lebanese believed to be A Foreign Office spokesman de-|| detained in Tehran in 1986. Iran holding western hostages. scribed the 90-minute meeting as - recently has threatened to put him Howe stopped in Kuwait during a “useful. ” Nothing Velayati said pub-]] on trial as a spy. gulf tour last month, and Walde- : , d imminent release of Britain reopened its Tehran em- _ grave is expected there shortly. Iranian Clergy Asked to Defer to Professionals _CPYRGHT J m, S gap | between what they have gained group inclinations, injustices, ignor- and what they were promised,” he _ ing the people and the genuine val- said in remarks coinciding with the ues of the revolution, and the lack révolution’s 10th anniversary cel- of real power in the hands of the ébrations. “But instead of disillu- people.” sionment and losing hope, one IRNA identified Montazeri as should discover the real reasons for “Iran’s designated future leader” to qualified professionals. - lack of success and think what and noted that this was his first In a statement carried by the of-|| ‘should be done.” public statement since last July’s | ficial Iranian news agency IRNA, He cited a long list of shortcom- U.N.-sponsored cease-fire with | Montazeri listed a number of inter-|] ings that have “caused the most — Iraq. | nal factors including “deficiencies in|| damage for the revolution,” warning Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini religious thinking régarding state|| that unless these are “redressed pushed for Montazeri’s designation administration” and “insufficient]] before it gets late, they can nolong- _ as his successor in 1985. But Kho- competence of the officials.” er be compensated.” meini’s disciple is known to be fac- “Of course the brave and revo- The defects cited by Montazeri ing strong opposition from powerful Anaseved oerpReleaseiaQ0 Gey 0% cl QbA-RORIEAGEB9RON040004000taGn in Tehran. Deutsche Presse-Agentur TEHRAN, Feb. 7—Iran’s spir- itual heir-apparent, Ayatollah Hos- sein Ali Montazeri, today admitted shortcomings in the 10-year-old Islamic revolution and urged the ruling clergy to relinquish more of their decision-making prerogatives CPYRGHT
Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3 } A @ 1989 Che Washington Times io? 33 killed as Shi-ite factions | Shoot it out south of Beiru By Samar Kadi launching an assault on the militia’s positions in Kfar Milki. rears PRESS INTERNATIONAL Positions around the villages of Kfar “The atheists in Hezbollah = Milki and Kfar Hetta. He said Hez- brought in fighters from the Bekaa BEIRUT, Lebanon — Rival mili- [[bollah fighters used knives and axes Valley through Israeli lines, and tias battling to dominate Lebanon’s inthe assault. . slipped into Kfar Hetta and Kfar Shi'ite Moslem community ex- “It was a real massacre. ... They Milki, carrying out the ugliest of changed barrages of mortars, rock- took the people by surprise,” the massacres, killing women, children ets and artillery fire south of Beirut spokesman said. “This will not go and elderly people,” the Amal com- yesterday, killing at least 53 persons unpunished.” munique said. . and wounding 85, police and hospital Police and hospital sources said In the Amal-controlled port city Officials said. 53 persons were killed and at least of Tyre, farther south, security The latest casualties in fighting 8S were wounded in the fierce fight- sources said the militia dispatched between the pro-Syrian Amal militia __ [ling in the cluster of villages.Among —_ 300 fighters to back up its forces in and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, [the wounded were a policeman and Iklim Al Tofah. . which began Dec. 31, brought the [three Lebanese Red Cross: rescue Witnesses said Amal cars toured toll to 77 killed and 146 wounded in orkers. the city as militiamen speaking the inter-Shi'ite power struggle cen- Witnesses said black smoke bil- through loudspeakers urged the tered in Beirut’s southern slums. owed over Kfar Milki, Kfar Hetta, population to donate blood to help Fighting with machine guns and and Ain Bouswar where dozens of wounded militia fighters. rockets spilled over into Moslem eavily armed militiamen traded “Nothing will Stop the fighting; west Beirut fora third day, buf Syr- rocke"S, Mortars and artillery fire. the two sides rete ee ' ian peacekeeping trovups intervened | Security sources said the militias, done with it until theres a loser and and no. casualties were reported [fighting for dominance of Lebanon's g winer,” the police spokesman said. there, . Shiite community, stormed each “Even if cease-fires are worked out, _- House-to-house fighting was re- _ [bther’s positions with grenades and the battles are bound to renew in the ‘ported in Iklim Al Tufah, 28 miles mortars. . absence of an all-out settlement.” .. south of Beirut, where Abou Ali A source said Hezbollah fighters The feud between Lebanot’s two Hammoud, a senior Amal militia of- aptured Amal bases in Kfar Milki main milita groups began last: April ficial was killed with 10 relatives and Kfar Hetta after four hours of when Amal évicted Hezbollah from nabated fighting, butanAmalcom- most of the sduth in fierce battles unique said the militia fighters re- that killéd 62 combatants. The fun- overed Kfar Hetta and launched a damentalists have since vowed to re- CPYRGHT and bodyguards, police and militia Sources said. ounterattack ta reeantien thaie tact Approved For ReleaSe-2066706768 : CPYRGHT
Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3 - HE .:WFiranian officials 0) aCe BT Te minister that some hostages in Lebanon wil freed soon, Kuwait's state-run news agency reports , - Foreign Minister Roland Dumas was in-Kuwai CPYRGHT | |fora brief state visit ; Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3
Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3 a - Ra A f ee ra ea a Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : GIA-RDP 6-00789R000400040001-3
~CiNeronil FORGES BaP lad a Kidnaped US!"Marine Officer CPYRGHT U.S. to Seek Release In Official Channels By Lou Cannon Washington Post Staff Writer Reagan administration officials: sald yesterday that U.S. efforts to. secure the release of abducted Ma- rine Lt, Col. William R. Higgins will: be undertaken through the United: Nations and governments in the, Middle East rather than by US. military forces. President Reagan raised the pos- sibility of a rescue attempt when he’ was asked at a White House photo- taking session if there was anything he “could do for Col. Higgins,” kid- 1 naped Wednesday in Lebanon by unknown gunmen. “I have to tell you we're doing everything we can,” Reagan re- | plied. “We're trying to find out as much as we can, and we'll try to get him located and certainly we want to rescue him.” A White House official promptly discounted the idea that the admin- istration might be planning a rescue attempt, saying “the president was referring to ongoing efforts through . the UN and governments in the House Minority Lea Yr Rober H. Michel (R-Ill.), present at the photo-taking session, dismissed Reagan’s statement as “just an off- the-cuff remark of the president." White House officials acknowl- edged privately that the president had raised the idea of a U.S. mili- tary attempt to free Higgins by us- |.ing the word “rescue” but said no such attempt is being planned. One official said that, despite intensive efforts to find Higgins, his where- abouts and that of his kidnapers are not known. State Department spokesman Charles E. Redman, who also dis- counted the idea of a U.S. military rescue, denied assertions by a group calling itself the Islamic Rev- olutionary Brigade, which said that it abducted Higgins and that he _ worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, ; Redman and ranking Defense Department officials said they have never heard of the Islamic Revolu- tionary Brigade and questioned its authenticity. Meanwhile, Higgins’ father, Wil- liam, 72, of Louisville, Ky., died yesterday of cardiac arrest and kid- ney failure, according to doctors at Humana Heart Institute Interna- tional. Doctors said he had been under- going treatment for a heart ailment at the Louisville hospital since Feb. 2. The doctors said he was coma- ‘tose at the time his son was kid- naped and died unaware of the in- cident. Higgins, 43, was abducted near the southern port city of Tyre LT, COL. WILLIAM R. HIGGINS «seized Wednesday in Lebanon where he was on duty as head of a 75-member U.N. observer team that is part of the U.N. Truce Su- pervisory Organization, .a small group that has supervised armistice aireeniontechett dart Jar the missing Americanz-the method aeband thee Tra Arab states since 1948, He was alone and driving a car flying the blue-and-white U.N. flag when he was kidnaped, according to witnesses, Redman said the United States would continue to supply U.S. sol- diers for the U.N, truce force de- spite the incident. “We don’t intend The White House discounted the idea of a rescue attempt. to jet terrorists determine our pol- icies or deter us from fulfilling our duties,” he said. Redman drew a distinction be- tween American civilians who have been ordered out of Lebanon and U.S. troops assigned to the peace- keeping force, . Because of the wave of abduc- tions in Lebanon, the State Depart- ment has been warning Americans to stay away. Last year, after three, more Americans were kidnaped, use' of a U.S. passport for travel to Lebanon was banned, “In this particular case, the indi- vidual U.S, officer was under the responsibility, authority and control of the United Nations in his role as a member of the United Nations supervisory organization,” Redman: said. Staff writer Molly Moore contributed to this report. were no leads as to where Higgi had been taken. Shiite Amal militiamen, in coo dination with U.N. troops, checkeé cars and expanded a 24-hour hu: for Higgins in rural villages. AmB fighters said they were unde “strict orders” to find Higgins a not to sleep before locating him. Amal officials said fog, rain ai poor visibility had helped the kif ‘napers and prevented effecti searches by U.N. helicopters. U.N. Undersecretary Generp Marrack Goulding cut short a visit Damascus and flew back to Beirg today upon hearing of Higgins’ dig appearance. He met with Lebane: President Amin Gemayel and lat condemned the kidnaping. “Here is an American who can , to Lebanon to take part in an entef prise set up to assist the withdrawp of Israeli troops from Lebanon, support Lebanese sovereignty ay Lebanese state institutions,” Go ding said. “When you have. a situation which three international staff have been taken hostage within two weeks, that is a very serious situ- ation,” he added, referring to the abduction two weeks ago of two senior Scandinavian officials with the: U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Sidon. ’ ; In New York, U.N. spokesman Mario Zamorano said that the pur- pose of Goulding’s visit to Gemayel was to “stress the need for this mat- ter to be resolved as speedily as possible.” He said Goulding drew the Lebanese government’s atten- tion “to the possible implications for United Nations activities in Leba- non of the fact that three United Nations officials have been kid- naped during the last two weeks’—a statement seen in New York and here as a warning that U.N, agencies may further cut back their activities here. - “We don’t know who did it,” Goul- ding said, “We do not know why they did it, But what I.can say is that these incidents do obviously have an effect on the readiness of governments .to send their people Authorities Doubt Responsibility Claim By Nora Boustany Special to The Washington Post TYRE, Lebanon, Feb. 18-— Around-the-clock searches by U.N. peace-keeping troops and Shiite Moslem militiamen in the muddy countryside of southern Lebanon turned up no sign today of U.S, Ma- rine Lt, Col. William R. Higgins, the head of a.U.N. observer group who was kidnaped by gunmen near here yesterday. An anonymous caller in Beirut claimed responsibility for the kid- naping on behalf of a previously un- known group called the Islamic Revolutionary Brigades, but author- ities were unsure of its authenticity and most suspicions pointed toward one of the area’s many militant, pro-Iranian factions. The caller, in a telephone conver- sation with an international news agency in Beirut, accused Higgins of being “one of the directors of the CIA in southern Lebanon.” He said the “hostage will not be freed until after his trial,” and said the captors would follow up with another state- ment accompanied by a picture of her“groups-haveda that they are holding a captive. . Higgins, 43, who heads the 75- man Lebanon Group of the U.N. Truce ‘Supervision Organization, was seized by gunmen and taken to an unknown destination yesterday as he was driving by himself, behind another U.N. car, enroute from Tyre to U.N, troop headquarters in Naqurah, near the Israeli border. Abdel Majeed Saleh, the political commander of the Shiite Amal movement in southern Lebanon, who had met here with Higgins and his aides for 14% hours just before he was intercepted, said the Amer- ican was probably “the captive of the same people holding other for- eign hostages in Lebanon.” Most are being held by pro-Iranian fac- tions. ‘Speaking at his home here, four miles north of Ras Ain, ‘wheré Hig- gins was.ambushed, Saleh said: that there appeared to be a “determina- tion to destroy an international sphere of influence in Lebanon and its humanitarian organizations for the sake of swapping any foreigner within reach for prisoners abroad.” Although he did not name the Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah, Saleh clearly was referring to their hos- tage-taking strategy in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s clergy and followers appeared nervous and edgy in the Tyre area today and largely kept a low profile. Some were seen racing through U.N. checkpoints: on the coastal road just north of Tyre, refusing to stop. Timor Goksel, spokesman for the U.N. peace-keeping force, said in a telephone interview that there See LEBANON, A16, Col. 4 ——aT nM ‘@ arine whether as military or civilians to work in Lebanon.” Aly Yassin, a fundamentalist Shi- ite religious leader in Tyre, spec- ulated, however, that Higgins had been singled out for kidnaping pri- marily because he was an Ameri- can, not because he was a member of a U.N.-affiliated organization. Goksel said Higgins had believed he was safe traveling in this area of southern Lebanon because he was the chief of his unit. Other Amer- icans in his group are largely con- fined to U.N, headquarters in Naqu- rah, near the Israeli border. Diplomatic sources in Beirut said Higgins was considered to be some- what of a “cowboy” and appeared overly confident in his venture to travel to the Tyre area. ’ Saleh said Higgins’ visit here-was his second in three months. Goksel said there had been no previous threats or indications that Higgins was in any danger as a U.N. officer. He was wearing’ his U.S. Marine Corps uniform along with the U.N. insignia and blue beret at the time of his abduction, Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3
-00789R000400040001-3 Approved For R 3 Kidnapers . | ‘Of Marine : Are Arrested | "Higgins Viewed -As.‘Gold Mine’ ig 7 -.>, By Nora Boustany. . ; Speclat to The Washington Post BEIRUT, Feb. 23—Local: secu- tity officials and independent mil- rtitary observers in southern Leba- }jnon said today hat three men i volved in the kidnaping of U.S. Ma- CPYRGHT rine-I,t, Col. William: Higgins have | been arrested, but gave no encour- ‘‘agement that it might lead to the : officer's release. ', Daoud Daoud, a commander of , the Shiite Amal militia, confirmed _ that two! participants in the abduc- : tion, as well as a third man who was | : carrying a letter from Beirut to the | . kidnapers with orders to bring Hig- | | gins to the. ‘Lebanese capital, all ‘ were arrested by Amal last Wed- ' nesday, the same day the abduction ; took place near the southern port : city of Tyre, The courier was-not able to de- : liver his message, Daoud added, ‘The Amal commander said his militia knew the name of the mas- termind of the kidnaping, but had: : been-unable to locate him, He de- an ~ three men being held. Amal security sources sald they , suspected Higgins was being held in. the-vilage-.of Jibsheet, “about 15 miles northeast ‘of Tyre, Hezbollah gunmen have fanned out in a cordon around the village, where there is heavy Iranian influence and a fer- | vently religious population. | . The gunmen prevented Amal and | reporters from approaching the small town, Last Friday, Amal mili- ‘tiamen searched Jibsheet and took in a few men for questioning. itA security official in Tyre said tdday that “two of the kidnapers who were in the front car and a third person supposedly monitoring Higgins’ movements were arrested, but the abduction was a very elab- orate and professional operation and involved five cars. “The kidnapers switched their “hostage from a Volvo to a pickup , tuck, then to a Mercedes 280, and then the trail is lost,” he added, 1. {The group that said it abducted Higgins, the Organization for the 4 Oppressed on Earth, has accused the.43-year-old Marine of being a Central Intelligence Agency oper- q.-atlve under United Nations cover. - {' Higgins heads the U.N. Truce Su- + pervision Organization in Lebanon, T° UN. Undersecretary General ‘| Marrack Goulding has described the allegation as “nonsense.” { Confirmation by the Pentagon of reports that Higgins had been an '] aide to former secretary of defense Caspar W. Weinberger and press reports that the officer had a high 3] Security clearance have minimized -| chances for his release, according | to U.N, sources, “This has been a very serious ‘] setback, especially if you under- :| stand how the minds of these kid- «| napers work,” said one official in- ‘| volved in the investigation. “They now think they have a gold mine, =] with a shortage of foreigners in Bei- #p.rut and the stream of information «| think they have the top man in the CIA and they will try to get as much + |/as they can for him from the highest idder,” he added. Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3
By Bill McAllister : Washington Post Staff Writer Iran, in a step that White House officials hope could ultimately lead to the release of American hostages in Lebanon, has responded to U.S. messagés over the downing of an Iranian jumbo jet, the Reagan ad- ministration disclosed yesterday. Although President Reagan is known to be anxious to win release of the nine hostages before he leaves office in January, White House and State Department officials sought to play down the message. Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater would say only that the “| communication. restated Iranian efforts to link improved relations or : release of the hostages to the free- CPYRGHT Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3 ing of Iranian assets still held by United States “or some other quid- pro-quo kind of movement which we are not prepared to do.” Neither White House nor State Department - spokesmen characterize the message, received last week through a third party, or the status of any communications between the two. countries. “Let’s put -it this way: They are aware of our response, but [I really can’t say exactly ai Fitzwater said. The White House spokesman said the two. countries “are not talking” and described the message as “very similar to what we have heard for several years.” In the past the administration has rejected suggestions voiced by Iran- would. ian officials in television interviews and elsewhere, saying the com- ments were not addressed to the government and were not coming from what the United States con- sidered “authoritative sources.” Fitzwater said the Iranian re- sponse was “serious” and authori- tative.. ; “I don’t think there is anything new- involved here. The situation remains the same. We’re willing to talk to them if they would provide an authoritative source. to ‘do it,” Fitzwater said. “I don’t think we’re willing to give it any special signif- icance at this point.” The White House reluctance to discuss the messages and their im- plications may reflect continued administrative concerns in the af- CPYRGHT ognizes now the offer was a mistalp. What remains: unchanged, sog the ‘American hostage freed witile he is in office: - These concerns: shave complicate the administration’s desire to fe- spond to overtures from Iran t§ followed the U.S. Navy’s dow ng Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000400040001-3 the Persian Gulf. Fitzwater -and “other administra- tion spokesmen: consistently. have cut short any discussion ‘of negoti- ations with Iran-over the hostages. “No deals,” .Fitzwater.said, when _asked about comments by Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament ‘and:head of. the ‘Trapian armed. forces, that Iran would work for’ the hostages’ re- lease if the United ‘States would help § free | Iranian assets... Turspay, AUcusT 2, 1988°A17 " MARLIN FITZWATER 3 ... Situation “remains the same” CPYRGHT |