Word: berrie
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...main reason for the nerve-racking 24-hour delay in the release of the hostages was a last-minute demand by Nabih Berri, leader of the Amal militia, that Washington give assurances there would be no retaliation by the U.S. or Israel against the Shi'ites after the hostages were set free. Amal spokesmen conveyed their anger at some remarkably ill-timed remarks on Friday by Reagan. In the speech in Chicago Heights, Ill., the President called the captors "murderers and barbarians," adding ominously: "Terrorists, and those who support them, must and will be held to account...
Accordingly, Berri led Amal in armed clashes against Israelis, Maronite Christians, Palestinians, Sunni Muslims and former allies, the Druze. "Berri the moderate? That's absurd!" scoffs Joyce Starr, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University. Agrees a U.S. Government source who has dealt with Berri: "He may be in the center but only because the center moved. He's not an extremist, but he's shown that he's quite willing to escalate his language -- and his actions -- to retain his position of authority in the Shia community." Still, there...
...Berri's display of radicalism has not made his hold on power any more secure. Despite being a devout Muslim who prays daily and shuns alcohol, he believes in separation of church and state. That puts him at odds with the Shi'ite Party of God, which advocates an Islamic state. Many of his own Amal militiamen carry pictures of Iran's Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini on leather thongs around their necks. Says one Washington intelligence source with expertise on the Lebanese Shi'ites: "Berri may be well known and popular among Shi'ites, but if you ask, 'Does he have...
...Monday, while filming in the city's teeming Shi'ite slums, he was suddenly caught in a storm of bullets. Only by surrendering his tape was Glass permitted to drive away. Two days later, however, came the scoop of the week: after persistent requests from ABC, Amal Leader Nabih Berri arranged for Glass to interview the crew still aboard...
...coverage "America Held Hostage," echoing the network's tag line for the Iranian crisis. But when staffers protested, the idea was dropped. Though Amal leaders have displayed the same eagerness to talk with reporters that Iranian President Abolhassan Banisadr did five years ago, there is a crucial difference: Berri, unlike Banisadr, is also speaking with U.S. diplomats...