Word: raid
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Tunisians were enraged by the long-distance attack. Newspapers published dozens of photographs of dismembered bodies, and the government-owned daily La Presse described the raid as "the blind barbaric terrorism of the Israeli state." But what really angered Bourguiba was the Reagan Administration's enthusiastic endorsement of the Israeli action, which White House Spokesman Larry Speakes described as a "legitimate response" to "terrorist attacks." President Reagan declared that Israel and other nations have the right to strike back "if they can pick out the people responsible." He added that he had "great faith in Israel's intelligence capabilities...
...Administration's approval of the raid shocked moderate Arab states. At the United Nations, the Security Council condemned the Israeli raid by a vote of 14 to 0, with the U.S. abstaining. Tunisian Foreign Minister Beji Caid Essebsi called the attack an act of "state terrorism" aimed at sabotaging Middle East peace efforts. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who had returned to Cairo only the previous day after what he had regarded as a successful trip to Washington, denounced the raid as a "horrible criminal operation" that posed "a major blow to peace efforts." Argued Mubarak: "If we counter terror with...
...beachfront in the Sinai that is claimed by both countries. In Tunis, Bourguiba called in U.S. Ambassador Peter Sebastian and told him of his "profound regret and great astonishment" at the Administration's response. Summing up the reaction by moderate Arabs, one senior Western ^ diplomat in Cairo declared, "The raid is going to leave scars, a lot more than were caused by the attack on the Iraqi reactor...
Shultz called the White House to protest the tenor of some of Speakes' comments. Next day, the White House backtracked a bit by saying that while the Israeli raid may have been "understandable as an expression of self- defense," it could not be "condoned." President Reagan belatedly sent his "condolences" to Bourguiba. Other officials acknowledged that the U.S. had played an important part in persuading the Tunisian leader to give the P.L.O. a place of refuge after it was driven out of Beirut by the Israelis...
Last week's raid could have myriad consequences. For one thing, it put Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi on notice that his country is not beyond the reach of Israeli air power. More important, however, may be the adverse effect on possible Middle East talks between Jordan and Israel. It will hurt King Hussein, particularly among moderate Arabs whose support he has been seeking. In visits to Washington and New York last week, Hussein went a long way toward meeting U.S. demands that he make clear his willingness to negotiate directly with Israel. Arafat, who last week vowed vengeance...