My men threatened —Marine general

Press, 18 March 1983, Page 8

My men threatened —Marine general

NZPA-Reuter Miami

The .Commandant of the United States Marine Corps has accused Israeli troops of deliberately threatening American officers’ lives in southern Lebanon, the “Miami Herald” reports.

It said that General Robert Barrow had written to the Defence Secretary, Mr Caspar Weinberger, saying he could “no longer remain silent on this: continual problem of provocation” by Israeli forces. The report by the “Herald’s” Washington reporter, James McCartney, said that a copy of General Barrow’s classified letter and an accompanying document had been obtained by its Washington bureau. A Pentagon (United States Defence Department) spokesman declined comment on the report. “I have no information on this,” he said. The “Herald” said that General Barrow had written in the letter, dated Monday:

“It is time for firm and strong action to demonstrate to the Israelis that a role as a peace-keeper does not presume weakness.”

It said that he had cited repeated incidents in which Americans had been threat-

ened, including three this year in which shots had been fired and one in which Israelis had threatened to kill an American captain. The "Herald” quoted the accompanying document as giving details of a previously undisclosed incident on January 31, when "an Israeli tank opened fire with a .50-calibre machine-gun on the road directly in front of a Marine patrol, forcing it to turn around." In another incident, it quoted the document as saying, "Israeli troops pointed American-made Ml 6 rifles at a Marine captain and stated they would kill him if he took one step towards them. He was forced to reroute his vehicle.”

The report said that General Barrow had told Mr Weinberger: “It is evident to me . . . that the incidents between the Marines and the I.D.F. (Israeli Defence Forces) are timed, orchestrated and executed for obtuse Israeli political purposes.”