Regents approve refund.
Soviets modernizing arsenal.
A&.M's in-house inquiry into
sale of government bonds
challenging U.S. technology
recruiting violations continues
— Page 3
— Page 7
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The Battalion
83 No. 121 CJSPS 075360 12 pages
College Station, Texas
Wednesday, March 26, 1986
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^J.S. forces knock out 2 more Libyan ships
• Trade
lepau
ssons
C.S.
SHINGTON (AF) — U.S. jets
arships destroyed two Libyan
trol boats and damaged a radar
ssile site Tuesday, and the Penta-
Bedared the renewed American
—lion a defense against ‘‘hostile in-
™itions,” even though no hostile
lie provoked it.
Fm a second straight day, the Na-
s pth Fleet opened tire on Col.
janimar Khadafy’s forces in the
ipnte over Libya’s claim to sover-
9 ^Jity over the Gulf of Sidra.
Ca|first, on Tuesday morning, the
Vntagon’s chief spokesman said the
£ Delved attacks came in retaliation
^).S. strike
*l!>n Libya
raised
■ Favoriti
t a very
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5 p.m.!
rs
nd
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against Libyan missile attacks aimed
unsuccessfully at U.S. planes. Later,
the administration said there had
been no new fire from the Libyans.
One of the patrol boats was sunk
by the cruiser Yorktown, marking
the first time a Navy ship had used
its surface-to-surface missiles against
a Libyan vessel.
U.S. officials said the attacks,
which occurred during the pre
dawn hours Tuesday, Tripoli time
— or late Monday night Eastern
Standard Time — were justified to
protect American sailors and ships
from attack by a country that had al
ready demonstrated “hostile inten
tions.”
The attacks came even though the
Libyan boats and missile installation
did not fire on American forces. But
U.S. officials said the battle force
had standing orders that declared
any Libyan plane or boat ap
proaching them to have hostile in
tentions.
Pentagon spokesman Robert
Sims, referring to Libya’s launch of
ground-to-air missiles against U.S.
planes on Monday, said “We have
been given ample evidence of hostile
Libyan intentions . . . and we will de
fend ourselves.”
There were conflicting reports,
meantime, as to whether the United
States might end its maneuvers be
low Libya’s so-called “line of death”
before the scheduled deadline of
April 1.
Secretary of State George Shultz
said the Mediterranean exercise,
which began Saturday night, would
continue as planned. But Defense
Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger
and Sims both suggested that the
commander of the 6th Fleet, Vice
Adm. Frank Kelso, could decide to
end the exercise before April 1.
The United States has three air
craft carriers and 27 other combat
ships operating in the region. Three
surface ships remained inside the
gulf, but the carriers remained out
side it to the north.
In other developments:
• Pentagon sources said the U.S.
armada was being closely shadowed
by six Soviet combat ships and that
the flagship of the Soviet flotilla re
mained in port in Tripoli, passing
along intelligence information. Sims
would not provide a precise count
on the Soviet ships, although he in
dicated at least four were near the
American vessels.
• Libyan air forces remained ab
sent from the combat arena. Wein
berger said Libyan fighters had been
detected in the air, but all had re
mained over land and had made no
move toward the gulf.
• White House spokesman Larry
Speakes and Sims said there was an
other “event” on Tuesday involving
a Libyan patrol ship, but no further
details were immediately forthcom-
See U.S. forces, page 12
as leaders say
ponse justified
)rder Washington (ap) — Mem-
rlof the Texas congressional del-
ation supported U.S. military re-
l-gnil'fation against Libya, calling it a
Pfed response to Libyan aggres-
rnes m.
. Rep. Charles Wilson, D-Lufkin, a
JliDii e^ber of the Defense Appropria-
■ subcommittee, said, “It was a
V%?p ;arcase Libyan aggression.”
M 1 * isjto fexas legislators reacted to Mon-
ly’s missile attacks on U.S. planes
_ (crating in the Gulf of Sidra that
to retaliatory raids against some
rol boats in the gulf and missile
cries on the Libyan shore.
"The Libyans deserve what they
Wilson said.
Republican Sen. Phil Gramm,
i0 is on the Armed Services Com-
:tee, said, “I think our reprisal
is totally justified.
“We can’t let pirates go around
lling us we can’t operate in the
Biterranean Sea.”
Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen
jrl, “You can’t let (Libyan leader
pammar) Khadafy close down in-
rnational waters.
“He has no more right to shut of f
e Gulf of Sidra than we would
ve to keep everybody out of the
If of Mexico, and when he fires
iles at U.S. airplanes you have
^'take steps to protect the people
' 'ng them.”
Republican Rep. Dick Armey of
ton said, “If you take a loud-
jlith bully like Khadafy and call
■“bluff, he’ll pull in his horns.”
jRep. John Bryant, D-Dallas,
ed, but added that there could
risks.
“Anytime you confront a bully,
|u run the risk of losses,” Bryant
K
| “And I think our whole nation is
laced at risk, but the price of not
Infronting a bully is much higher
ujiTie<b lan t ^ ie P r ‘ ce °f facing one,” he
2611 1(1
Reflections
The windows of Rudder Tower show a reflection of the sun behind the clouds.
Photo by ANTHONY S. CASPER
Reagan gives
emergency aid
to Honduras
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi
dent Reagan gave $20 million in
emergency military assistance to
Honduras on Tuesday and agreed
to the use of U.S. helicopter pilots in
response to an incursion by troops of
the Marxist-led government of
neighboring Nicaragua.
White House spokesman Larry
Speakes said as many as 1,500 Nica
raguan troops had crossed the bor
der into Honduras. The Honduran
government confirmed the incur
sion and said it had requested U.S.
aid.
Speakes said U.S. personnel are
“not to be introduced into combat
situations.”
Nicaragua’s Marxist-led Sandi-
nista government, however, called
the border crossing report “one
more lie by the Reagan administra
tion.”
Administration officials described
the Nicaraguan military move as the
largest of more than 100 Sandinista
border crossing into Honduras since
the Nicaraguan rebels began using
that country as a base of operations
more than four years ago.
White House Chief of Staff Don
ald Regan, after meeting with Re
publican Senate leaders, said trans
portation assistance will be supplied
by U.S. helicopters and pilots. He
said they are in Honduras already as
part of an on-going military excer-
cise.
Regan said that while they will be
used in support of the Honduran
See Honduras, page 12
Khadafy philosophy one of Arab unity
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Despite his reputation
as an erratic leader, Moammar Khadafy has con
sistently steered his nation of some 3 million peo
ple according to a philosphy of Arab unity
marked by hostility to Israel and to “imperial
ism.”
Khadafy, Libya’s leader for nearly 17 years,
sees himself as the guardian of the pan-Arab, so
cialist ideals of the late Egyptian President Gamal
Abdel-Nasser.
Libya celebrates each year the anniversary of
the July 26, 1952, Nasserite coup in Egypt, even
though it’s hostile toward the Cairo government.
Western and Arab diplomats believe it is Kha
dafy’s messianic view of Libya’s role in the world
that has often put the mercurial colonel in con
flict not only with the United States but with
other Arab leaders who do not share his views.
As an opponent of what he considers imperial
ism, Khadafy has championed causes of such di
verse groups as Indians in the United States,
Moslem rebels in the Philippines and the Irish
Republican Army.
He has backed radical factions of the Palestine
Liberation Organization opposed to a peaceful
settlement with Israel, financed opponents of de
posed President Gaafar Nimeiri in Sudan and is
believed to have supported a bumbling coup at
tempt against the late President Anwar Sadat in
Egypt in April 1974.
As a champion of pan-Arabism, Khadafy has
unsuccessfully sought political unity at various
times with Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria and
Morocco, only to be rebuffed each time.
Nevertheless, Khadafy is one of the few Arab
leaders who openly supports non-Arab Iran in its
war with Iraq, whose government he condemns
as fascist.
Although he is clearly Libya’s strongman, Kha
dafy shuns formal titles and holds no office be
yond “guide of the revolution.”
He calls his country “the Socialist Peoples’ Li
byan Arab Jamahiriya,” roughly translated from
Arabic as “state of the masses.”
Khadafy’s political and social philosophy cen
ters around the belief that Arab countries must
purge themselves of Western and Marxist cultu
ral influences and build a popular society based
on principles of the Koran, the Moslem holy
book.
Khadafy launched his cultural revolution in
April 1973, nearly four years after deposing
King Idris and closing U.S. and British bases in
the North African country. Khadafy vowed “to
destroy imported ideologies, whether Eastern or
Western.”
The following month, he announced his “third
See Khadafy, page 12
Classes
to meet
on Friday
Students anticipating another
Easter surprise from Gov. Mark
White can sit back, relax and pre
pare for classes on Friday.
Mike Schneider, assistant press
secretary for White, said the deci
sion to close state agencies on
Good Friday last spring was made
by the Texas Legislature, which
was in session during the week
before Easter.
The resolution was proposed
by Sens. Ed Howard and Grant
Jones.
The Legislature is not in ses
sion this week and, under Texas
law, White can’t cancel classes
without a resolution from the
Legislature.
The question of honoring
Good Friday is now up to each in
dividual state agency, Schneider
said.
Dr. Gordon Eaton, provost and
vice president for academic af
fairs, said since the governor has
already designated San Jacinto
Day a state holiday, cancelling
classes would affect the Universi
ty’s required number of class
days.
“We will not be taking that day
off,” Eaton said.
It
Jissan
y 0 dis-
Jissan
tiine
Police still looking
into studenfs death
By BRIAN PEARSON
Senior Staff Writer
he Bryan Police Department
not closed the case involving
apparent suicide by a Texas
M student.
IChris Carter Holmans, 24, an
AjcM senior finance major from
Denton, walked into his apart-
nient complex laundromat about
10:30 p.m. Friday with a knife
embedded in his chest. He was
lad in a blanket, T-shirt, under-
arand socks, Bryan police said,
lolnians was taken to St. Joseph
ispital and died at 12:30 a.m.
an operating table during
icrgency surgery.
Police Sgt. Choya Walling said
le victim’s father says he’s not
lisfied with current police in
stigations of his son’s death.
Walling said no autopsy was
performed on Holmans. In most
suspicious deaths an autopsy is
ordered to determine the cause
of death, he said.
“We didn’t see anything that
we could gain from the autopsy,”
Walling said. “What is an autopsy
going to show us? It’s going to tell
us that he died from the knife
stab to his sternum.”
An autopsy, Walling said, is or
dered by a justice of the peace
who receives recommendations
from investigating officers.
Justice of the Peace Carolyn
Hensarling, who could have or
dered Holmans’ autopsy, said an
autopsy was not needed.
“You never do an autopsy on
anybody unless there is foul play
See Bryan case, page 12
KLS computers should sue A&M'
System official files reply to suit
By SCOTT SUTHERLAND
City Editor
Attorneys for Texas A&M Uni
versity System Vice Chancellor Bill
Wasson filed a response Monday to
the multi-million dollar lawsuit filed
in January by local computer store
owners who want to shut down the
Texas A&M Micro Center.
The lawsuit, filed January 29 by
attorneys for KLS computers, seeks
$4.05 million in actual and punitive
damages from Wasson. Other local
retailers that have been affected by
the Micro Center are also named as
plaintiffs.
The suit contends that WasSon,
along with other System employees,
conspired to put the retailers out of
business by establishing a low-cost
computer outlet that decimated
competition.
Wasson was served with the KLS
petition on February 28. Texas law
allows the defendant 20 days and a
Monday to file a rebuttal to the law
suit.
Wassons refutes the suit on proce
dural grounds. His response doesn’t
seek to challenge any of the accusa
tions of unfair competition leveled at
the Micro Center. Instead it con
tends that KLS should sue A&M and
not Wasson.
The suit seeks action against Was
son instead of the University because
Wasson has represented the Center
as a separate venture and not an en
tity of the University, according to
KLS attorney John Hawtrey.
In the answer, Wasson’s attorneys
contend that Wasson was acting in
his official capacity with A&M and
therefore is entitled to protection
from antitrust lawsuits.
“All of (Wasson’s) actions and ac
tivities complained of were pursuant
to proper authority and well within
the course and scope of his employ
ment,” the answer states.
The answer further says that
A&M is an entity of the state, and to
sue the state or its entities, a plaintiff
must receive permission from the
Legislature.
KLS has not done that, the answer
states, therefore the suit should ei
ther be dropped or held in abate
ment until permission is received.
Under Texas antitrust laws the
state is immune from prosecution
for unfair trade practices unless the
Legislature agrees it can be sued.
Robert Henderson, general coun
sel for the Legislative Council of the
Legislature, says getting the Legis
lature to grant permission to sue
isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Pas
sage of a concurrent resolution that
states why the plaintiff is suing is
generally routine, he said.
In the event that KLS is forced to
sue A&M rather than Wasson, KLS
would not be able to get permission
until January. The Legislature is not
in session now and will not reassem
ble until January, barring a special
session. Retailers fear that many of
them will be out of business by Jan
uary.
See Administrator, page 12