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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 1980)
The Battalion Vol. 73 No. 147 14 Pages Friday, April 25, 1980 College Station, Texas . S. aborts attempted rescue of hostages 8 soldiers die in plane crash during operation; reports are sketchy United Press International WASHINGTON — A daring effort to icue53U.S. hostages in Tehran ended in -edy even before it began when two ' S military aircraft collided on a remote Lilian desert, killing eight Americans, the White House said today. The ground crash also injured a number /Americans who apparently were prepar- £ to stage a helicopter raid on the U.S. nbassy grounds to rescue the hostages. . rest of those involved in the abortive sion immediately were airlifted to pre- nt possible Iranian retaliation. White House Press Secretary Jody ivell said President Carter took “full re- nsibility for the decision to attempt the ie” of the hostages, captive for 174 lavs, and declared “the nation is deeply mteful to the brave men who were prepar- hg to rescue the hostages.” S council Later, Iran s military leadership, in a radio bulletin in Tehran, claimed Iranian aircraft pursued the U.S. force and two U.S. aircraft “carrying a number of CIA agents and U.S. Marines” collided, caught fire and crashed near Tabas, a town in the desert Khorsan province about 300 miles east and just south of Tehran. The Iranian government repeatedly has warned the United States not to attempt a military rescue lest harm befall the hos tages. In Tel Aviv, Israeli Radio reported the United States used an Egyptian air base as a staging area, and flew at least three troop carrying C-130 Hercules transports in the mission. The radio report was based on the moni toring of air traffic. The first word in Iran of the effort came in a Tehran Radio broadcast announcing the White House said “a military attempt to release the American hostages in Tehran failed due to a technical fault.” The White House said the action “was not motivated by hostility toward Iran or the Iranian people and there were no Ira nian casualties. ” The mission apparently was scrubbed before it began. Powell said Carter ordered the rescue effort canceled because of “equipment failure,” and in the subse quent efforts to withdraw the American raiding force, a C-130 collided with a heli copter, killing the eight men. White House sources said the “equip ment failure” announced by Powell was the failure of an aircraft engine. It was not im mediately clear whether that failure was in any way connected with the ground crash. Powell said the injured Americans “are being given medical treatment and are ex pected to recover.” Sara Rosen, mother of hostage Barry Rosen, accused Carter of “trying to kill” the hostages. “It’s a terrible thing,” the distraught woman sobbed in a telephone interview with UPI at her Brooklyn apartment. “He had no business doing it. He’s trying to kill them.” Details of the mission were sketchy. Carter apparently had personally approved the project to establish a staging area in the Iranian desert from which to dispatch the choppers on a lightning strike mission to free the hostages. Powell did not release details of the inci dent. He did not say when the crash occur red, when the actual rescue operation had been scheduled to take place, or how many Americans were involved in the effort. DSPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 approves oncerts By TIM JASEK City Reporter A summer concert series to include the louston Pops Orchestra was agreed to [kursday by the College Station City Council. Jody Bates of the Brazos Valley Arts Council requested $3,375 from the city’s Krtel-motel tax fund to assist her organiza- km in producing the six summer con- erts. Hie remaining $7,485 needed for the oneert series will be provided by the IVAC. Hie Pops, known for their style of con- emporary music, will perform at the Oaks ’ark June 22. Bluegrass, jazz and folk nusic will also be part of the series which asts from June 1 to August 17. Hie council also agreed to grant money rom its hotel-motel tax revenue to prom- ite six athletic events including the South- rest Regional Women’s Fastpitch Tourna- nent on May 1-3. Money was also granted to special events uch as the annual July 4th celebration at iee Creek Park. Hie council unanimously voted to allow he Brazos Valley Development Council to nntinue its Moderate Rehabilitization ’rogram established last year by the U.S. department of Housing and Urban De- relopment. Hie program helps low-income renters levelop housing, finding landlords, aiding hem financially and finding eligible fami- ies. The BVDC also assists renters with lousing payments. Jane Kee, community development >hnner, said the program should “reduce ihe emphasis on new construction, ” by locating $1,000 to $5,000 per low-income fusing unit. Hie Council passed an ordinance order- the extension of Southwest Parkway Texas Avenue to the East Bypass unanimously. A public hearing on the allocation of fees * the project will be at a later date, the !0 '®cil agreed. A recommendation that nearly $3,000 be ‘Jfcnton proper indentification cards for all % employees was tabled after a disagree- "eot between council members as to *hich bid should be accepted. Good goo Photo by Jamie Freeman Keith Nubill, a Texas A&M student majoring in animal science, takes a break for his favorite exer cise — blowing bubble-gum. Nubill says the gum is good for his jaws, even if it does stick to his face. olcano’s re-emergence evives northwest town I Press International IEW, Wash. — When it’s quit- ^“ me a t the Weyerhaeuser mill, the *“'1 head down to the Wood Shed to rinse the sawdust out of their .re looking for beer, but lounge Oenny Bauman is pushing his latest a $l-a-glass concoction of pink *5*P*e, vodka and 7-Up, named the i®lens Blast, ’ for the erupting volcano is the best thing that ever hap- 10 the city of 30,000. s target is not the mill workers tourists expected to flock to south- whington this summer for a gfimpse *ti v e volcano — Mount St. Helens. ^S^iew s alwavs b#»f»n a one-wav road ®*uman ( - .- s always been a one-way road — just a place you pass on the the beach or to Seattle or Portland, *W. (•j P^ple are going to say, ‘Hey, p c see the only volcano in the £|T^h*ts still spitting!’” is not alone in his optimism. *t*te officials to hot dog vendors, ^eryone in a 50-mile radius of the . * ees >t as a potential tourist bonan- r*? 1 *rea heavily dependent on the M&ing and wood products indus- When Mount St. Helens awoke a month ago, belching steam and ash after more than a century of rest, the highways instant ly filled up with rubbemeckers from as far away as Canada and Arizona. With scientists predicting the eruptions could go on for months or years, the prop rietors hope the best is yet to come. “We look on it as a tremendous oppor tunity for a tourist attraction, said Tom Manning, director of the Longview Cham ber of Commerce. “We’re going to try to capitalize on it, frankly. “We've held cjlIIs from 3S far away as Oiu- cago. They ask. Can you really see the volcano from Longview?* We tefl them yes and ask when they’re coming. Over at Kelso, which is 35 miles from the mountain — 3 miles closer than Longview, thev are past the talking stage. The Kelso Chamber of Commerce has printed up 10,000 new tourist brochures with a picture of the erupting volcano on the cover. “We are picking up a tremendous load of these volcano watchers, as we call them, said Judy Bomstedt, the chamber s drrec- the weather is cloudy, not an unusual event in the Pacific Northwest. Mrs Bom stedt is ready to sell the color Mount St. Helens photographs she snapped after driving her snowmobile a mile from the f>eak. “Sometimes people travel a long w’ay,” she explained. “We don’t want anyone to have to go away disappointed Even the merchants in the small towns closer to the volcano have good feelings about Mount St. Helens. There’s hardly a store without a good stock of T-shirts that read. "Helen is Hot” or "I Survived the 1980 Eruption.’ The U.S. Forest Service is gearing up for a big year at the Mount St. Helens recrea tion area, which last year drew more than 280,000 campers, climbers, fishermen, boaters, hikers and picnickers. A dangerous eruption of molten lava, hot rock or gases still is a major concern of scientists. But Longview Chamber of Com merce director Manning said such an event would have to wipe out most of southwest Washington before it endangered the tour ist business. “I feel if that volcano started acting up in a vicious manner.” he said, "wed have so many people here, we wouldn’t know what to do with them. Powell said Carter “deeply regrets” the death of the American crewmen and “accepts full responsibity for the decision to attempt the rescue.” Carter was in the White House through out the evening, meeting with top military and diplomatic advisers. The president retired for the night after Powell announced the aborting of the raid in a conference call with UPI, the Associ ated Press, Reuter and Agence France Presse. “Preparations for this rescue mission were ordered for humanitarian reasons to protect the national interests of this coun try and to alleviate international tensions. The president accepts full responsibility for the decision to attempt the rescue. “The United States continues to hold the government of Iran responsible for the safety of the American hostages. The Un ited States remains determined to obtain their safe release at the earliest possible date.” The Iran task force at the State Depart ment notified the hostage families early today. In San Diego, Dorothea Morefield, whose husband is a hostage, told UPI: “We had so hoped the entire situation would end without any death. Now we have eight dead and they are just as impor tant as the hostages. We just hope it doesn’t lead to anything worse.” Does she support Carter’s decision? “Only he has all the information and he has to make these decisions. We have to accept them if he thought this was best and if he thought the hostages were en dangered. We have to get them out without anymore lives being lost.” President takes blame for failure United Press International WASHINGTON — President Carter said today he scrubbed the “carefully plan ned operation” that he said would have had “an excellent chance at success” to rescue 53 U.S. hostages because of “equipment failure” on a helicopter slated to participate in the rescue mission. He expressed “deep regret” at the death of eight American crewmen in the crash of two U. S. aircraft on a remote desert in Iran. In a nationally broadcast statement from the White House, a grim-faced Carter said plans for the military rescue began shortly after the hostages were seized Nov. 4. He said he waited until now until it be came clear that previous non-military efforts were getting nowhere. “It was my decision to attempt the rescue operation,” Carter said. “It was my deci sion to cancel. The responsibility is fully my He said the United States will continue to “pursue every possible avenue” to se cure the release of the hostages, and he pleaded with both the American people and the nation’s allies for support. Carter said the carefully planned mission had an “excellent chance of success. ” He said the would-be raiders “were all volunteers, all highly trained.” “This rescue attempt had to await my judgment,” he said. “The steady unravel ing of authority in Iran made an early re lease highly unlikely. “I made a decision to set” the rescue plan in operation, he said. “In the aftermath, we continue to hold the government of Iran responsible for the safety of the hostages. ” Carter said in his brief remarks that the support of U.S. allies would be even more important — now that the rescue mission had failed — for a peaceful solution to the hostage problem. Carter, who did not add much to the details of the dramatic story, said “other information will be made available to the American people when it is aappropriate to do so.” He expressed “deep regret” at the eight deaths and the injuries, but said: “We are convinced that if the rescue operation (had been able to proceed) it would have been successful.” Carter said when he determined that “the early release was highly unlikely, I made a decision to commence the rescue operation... this was a necessity and a duty.” Carter said the rescue operation “was feasible. This complex operation had to be the product of intensive planning ... however, a resolution of this crisis through negotiation and with the voluntary cooper ation of Iranian officials” did not appear possible. Reactions vary to Carter’s plan Russians denounce U.S. attempt United Pre»» Intemertonnl MOSCOW’ — The Soviet Union, in its first public reaction to the U.S. effort to rescue the hostages in Iran, today called the mission an “armed provocation against the republic of Iran. The state-con trolled radio said President Carter had accepted responsibility for "this military adventurism, and said the colli sion between the two U.S. planes took place “at a secret military airfield “On April 24, Carter's administration carried out an armed provocation against the Republic of Iran," the radio broadcast said. "The matter is unpredecented adven ture undertaken by Washington under the disguise of not intending to use military measures in the American-Iranian con flict. The official Tass news agency reported the rescue mission, without comment, in a brief dispatch from Ness York. The U.S. embassy in Moscow refused to comment when asked if the Soviet Union had been contacted about the rescue mis- United Press International The mother of one of the American hos tages in Iran accused President Carter to day of “trying to kill” the hostages, and she and family members of the other hostages expressed fear the Iranians might now harm the captives. Sara Rosen of New York, mother of American hostage Barry Rosen, sobbed during a telephone interview and said of Carter’s decision to attempt a rescue of the hostages, “He had no business doing it. “He should have waited a little bit longer until it simmered in Tehran, she said. “He’s trying to kill them.” The WTiite House said an attempt to res cue the 53 Americans held in Iran was can celed by President Carter because of “equipment failure." As U.S. forces were withdrawing, two American planes col lided on a desert airfield in Iran, killing eight airmen and injuring others. M rs. Rosen’s son was the press attache assigned to the U.S. Embassy when it was taken over by Iranian militants Nov. 4. Dorthea Morefield of San Diego, wife of hostage Richard Morefield, said of Carter's decision: “Only he has all the information and he has to make these decisions. We have to accept them if he thought this was best and if he thought the hostages were endangered.” Mrs. Morefield, whose husband was the consul general at the U.S. Embassy, said she hoped the Iranian militants would not take reprisals against the hostages. Several of the family members of other hostages contacted by UPI did not know of the rescue attempt and refused to comment until hearing from the State Department, but all expressed fear for the hostages safe ty Mrs. Louisa Kennedy, wife of embassy commercial and economic officer More- head Kennedy-, said she was "appalled” by the abortive rescue attempt and can only “hope and pray” the hostages will not be hurt as a result. Mrs. Kennedy, contacted in London, is currently on a visit to Western European capitals to seek support for obtaining the hostages’ release. Judy Haessly of Milwaukee, an aunt of hostage Kevin Hermening, said, “Right now I’m very scared about the whole situa tion and would like to know more about it. How much do the Iranians know about this and how are the militants going to react, that scares me.” Richard Gallegos of Denver, father of hostage Marine Cpl. Billy Gallegos, said, "We really weren’t expecting anything like this. I just hope there won’t be any retalia tion on the hostages from a thing like this.” Sen. Charles Percy, R-Ill., said he was informed about the abortive mission about 12:30 a. m. today by Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher. "I frankly think the risk was too high,” Percy said of the rescue attempt. “The chances of losing the hostages and the military men was simply something we couldn’t afford, particularly at a time when the allies appeared to be pulling behind us,” Percy said. “It is a tragic loss for the country." Sen. Henry Jackson, D-Wash., a mem ber of the Senate Foreign Relations Com mittee, said he was notified of the operation at about midnight Thursday. “I was advised merely that the mission had failed, " Jackson said. "I regret that re sult. In the meantime, we have to reassess our situation, to determine the course of action that we are to follow.” Rep. John Anderson, R-Ill , now an in dependent candidate for president, said he was "profoundly disturbed" by the aborted attempt.