Heres RONALD REAGAN, that noted Communist Socialist Secret Muslim Vacation-taker, warning Israel not to retaliate in 1985 U.S. Warns Israel Not to Retaliate : Restraint Over 2 Airport Attacks Called Important to Peace Process December 29, 1985| The White House attempted Saturday to wave Israel off its pledge of retaliation for terrorist killings in the Rome and Vienna airports, warning against an escalation of violence on either side that might further sidetrack the search for a Mideast peace settlement. Speaking to reporters in Los Angeles, where President Reagan was **vacationing**, White House spokesman Larry Speakes said the White House sent messages to a number of nations urging restraint in the wake of the attacks, which have left five Americans and 13 others dead, including four of the terrorists. It is absolutely essential that we continue the peace process. Now more than ever, its important, Speakes said. What we have asked is that there be restraint on the part of all parties in the region. Lean Heavily on Israel Speakes would not say whether Israel was among the nations that received the messages. A senior official said later, however, that the Administration has asked several friendly nations in the region to lean heavily on Israel not to retaliate for the attacks. That official called it highly unlikely that the United States would take quick military action in response to the killings, as it did when the hijackers of the cruise ship Achille Lauro tried to flee Egypt in an EgyptAir jetliner last summer. President Reagan is reviewing written intelligence reports on the Rome and Vienna airport massacres, Speakes said, but the United States has been unable so far to identify those specifically responsible. In Washington, State Department experts were reported to believe that the killings were plotted by a Libya-based radical Palestinian, Abu Nidal, who is said to be also supported by Syria. He is believed responsible for the 1982 attempted assassination of Israels ambassador to Britain and the Nov. 23 hijacking to Malta of an EgyptAir passenger jet, in the aftermath of which 60 people died. The Israeli government so far has blamed only unnamed Palestinian terrorists for the massacres at El Al airline check-in counters in the Rome and Vienna airport terminals and promised that they would not go unpunished. Israeli Targets After past terrorist acts, Israel often has targeted outposts of the Palestinian Liberation Organization for retribution, even when blame has been found to lie with other groups. The 1982 assassination attempt triggered Israels controversial invasion of Lebanon and its drive to rid that country of PLO strongholds. More recently, Israel bombed the PLOs Tunis headquarters last Oct. 1, with a heavy loss of civilian life, after pro-Palestinian terrorists killed three Israeli tourists aboard a yacht in Cyprus six days earlier. Fridays automatic-weapon and grenade strikes injured 121 people and unleashed new fears of terrorism throughout Europe. On Saturday, El Al passengers at Pariss Orly Airport boarded flights under extraordinary security that included bus trips to Israeli airline jets parked on remote slabs of airport tarmac. Speakes remarks, with other statements by State Department officials in Washington, underlined White House concern that strict Israeli retribution could halt recent moves toward moderation by a few veteran enemies of Israel, including Jordan.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 18:05:45 +0000
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