Word: haig
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That wry comment from a Reagan Administration official summed up all too well the initial U.S. response to the imposition of martial law in Poland. Secretary of State Alexander Haig admitted that the Administration was "surprised" by the crackdown. Other officials insisted that he referred only to the timing rather than the fact of the move. Nonetheless, Washington had apparently focused its planning on the contingency that has not yet happened. The U.S. and its European allies long ago had agreed to invoke stern diplomatic and economic sanctions if Poland were invaded by the Soviet army. But there...
...reconciliation to Reagan. But U.S. intelligence officials had begun to receive reports that Libyan hit teams were out to kill Reagan. By the time U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Chapman narrowly missed being assassinated in Paris in November, Washington had made up its mind about Gaddafi's true intentions. As Haig put it: "I think it underlines the urgency of dealing with the problem [Gaddafi] in an effective, prudent, unequivocal...
...detail that seemed to parallel other reports, he said that Gaddafi had ordered the assassination of several top American officials if no hit team could reach the President. With that, security was greatly increased not only for the President but for Vice President George Bush, Secretary of State Alexander Haig and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger as well. Next, Secret Service protection was extended for the first time to Reagan's top aides: James Baker, Edwin Meese and Michael Deaver...
...Athens and Ankara. During the past few weeks, the Libyans rented rooms in sight of each embassy and were clocking the movements of senior U.S. officials there. Security has been tightened considerably at both missions, as well as at certain other embassies around the world. In Ankara, where Haig planned to visit this week, an Administration official described the security as being in "as high a state of alert as we've ever...
...move against Solidarity caused shock and dismay throughout the West. In Washington, President Reagan was kept closely informed of the Polish situation throughout the weekend. In Brussels, Secretary of State Alexander Haig hastily put off a planned trip to Israel. He said the U.S. and its European partners were "surprised" by the ominous developments in Poland. "We're watching very carefully," he said. "And we are consulting with our concerned allies here on the Continent." In a direct warning to the Soviets, Haig said, "It would be hard to call the West guilty of interference. And we have increasingly...