Word: berrys
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Amal leaders seemed to be satisfied. One militiaman quoted Syrian officials as saying that the U.S. had given an assurance not to retaliate. As Berri explained to reporters on Sunday, "We were ready to take them to Damascus yesterday, but after Reagan threatened us we had to delay their departure. I had to talk to the hijackers and to my people...
Another serious obstacle that developed on Saturday morning was that Berri's militia did not have control over four of the captives, who were being held by Shi'ite extremists of Hizballah (Party...
...resolution of the hostage crisis, however, involved not public interviews in Beirut but a tense backstage diplomatic drama on three continents. On Monday, Berri had seemed intransigent. He dismissed as insignificant Israel's release of 31 Lebanese prisoners early in the week. What about all the Lebanese still held in Atlit? he asked. He threatened to turn the hostages back to the original hijackers. One U.S. official went so far as to predict that "we probably are not going to get all these people back in any event...
...took only hours. Wednesday morning, Berri summoned reporters and TV crews to the hot, crowded basement under his office in West Beirut to broadcast "my answer to threats from America." First, Berri announced the release of Palmer, 48, a hefty air-conditioning technician from Little Rock, who was seated next to him. Palmer suffers from high blood pressure and a heart condition...
Then came a seemingly offhand bombshell. Said Berri: "We are prepared to hand the kidnaped persons over to a Western embassy, Swiss or French, whichever they (U.S. officials) choose." Alternatively, he said, Amal might "send the airplane with all the hostages to Damascus." Berri attached one giant condition: Syrian President Assad, or whoever else took custody of the Americans, would have to pledge not to set them free until all Lebanese prisoners in Atlit had been released by Israel. In Washington, White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan was awakened at about 3:30 a.m. by a call from...