Word: shies
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...before dawn on Saturday. But no. They were still in Beirut. The carefully crafted plan for their release had gone awry. Darkness fell in the war-torn city, and the hostages were once again split into groups and sent back to their beds in the secret hideaways of their Shi'ite Muslim guards from Lebanon's Amal militia. When they awoke on Sunday, they had no way of knowing how much longer their ordeal would last...
...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...
...White House privately set about "clarifying" Reagan's remarks, but by late Saturday night an official statement was deemed necessary. The State Department at 10 p.m. released a Delphic sentence presumably designed to allay the sensitivities of the Shi'ites. It stated, "The U.S. reaffirms its long- standing support for the preservation of Lebanon, its government, its stability and its security and for the mitigation of the suffering of its people." McFarlane, looking tired but sounding optimistic, had driven his own car to the White House at 6:20 a.m. on Sunday, where he confirmed that the statement was "apparently...
...Sunday, however, McFarlane insisted that Reagan's statement was not responsible for the delay. Rather, he said, it was used as "a pretext" by those Shi'ites who had doubts about the arrangement. When Reagan was informed that the plan seemed to be coming unraveled, he told his aides: "Well, these things happen, but we're right in our policies and it will work out." Iran, officials suggested, probably contributed to the weekend delay. Syria, however, helped keep the diplomatic dialogue on track. It was through Syria that the U.S. learned that some declaration about no retaliation was desired. When...
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...