Shultz says U.S. should be ready to intervene

Press, 3 February 1987, Page 6

Shultz says U.S. should be ready to intervene

NZPA-Reuter Washington

The United States Secretary of State, Mr George Shultz, described Beirut as “a plagueinfested place from the Middle Ages” and said the United States should be prepared to use military force against hostagetakers.

“I think that we have to be prepared to use military force when we have a clear target and know precisely what we’re doing,” said Mr Shultz. He told United States “News and World Report” magazine that the circumstances surrounding secret United States arms sales to Iran may have

reinforced the idea that kidnapping Americans is an effective way to strike out at the United States.

“It seems as though the structure of the arms deliveries and the connection with the hostages may have gotten pretty tightly connected, in which case the perception of the Iranians — whatever the perception in this country was — would be that hostages are a thing of value.”

The United States should make it clear to kidnappers that they must pay for taking Americans hostage. “If we can figure out how to raise the cost to the terrorists, we will,” he

Mr Shultz suggested that negotiations to free American hostages held in Lebanon were complicated by the publicity the captives have received. “The more you make out of hostages, the more value is placed on them by the hostage-takers,” he said.

In his comments about using military force, Mr Shultz said special effort should be made to avoid harming the innocent. "On the other hand, if you take a situation like Beirut now, it is chaotic; it’s sort of like a plagueinfested place from the Middle Ages, and it needs to be quarantined.”