Replay Montag, 5. Dezember 1983

TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRESIDENT'S NEWS SESSION;

Date: 05 December 1983

Following is a transcript of President Reagan's news session on the South Lawn of the White House this afternoon concerning the events in Lebanon, as recorded by the White House: OPENING STATEMENT For some time now we have been flying regular and routine reconnaissance flights with unarmed planes in Lebanon as a part of the protection and defense of our forces there. We notified the Syrians of this some time ago, assuring the planes were unarmed; this was purely for reconnaissance. There have been some instances of firing at those planes now and then from unknown sources. But early yesterday, two such reconnaissance missions were fired upon by literally hundreds of antiaircraft and a combination of surface to air missiles which were coordinated in several sites by the Syrians. Early today we responded to this unprovoked attack by striking back at those sites from whence had come the attack.

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KREMLIN AIDE SAYS US. IMPERILS TALKS ON STRATEGIC ARMS

Date: 06 December 1983

By John F. Burns, Special To the New York Times

John Burns

A Soviet official said today that the same American tactics that led the Russians to break off talks on medium-range nuclear weapons were now threatening the talks on intercontinental nuclear weapons. The official, Marshal Nikolai V. Ogarkov, chief of the general staff, said that efforts by the United States to achieve military superiority were moving the talks on limiting strategic nuclear weapons ''in the same direction'' as the negotiations on medium-range weapons in Europe that were broken off by the Kremlin on Nov. 23. Another session of the strategic arms talks is scheduled Tuesday in Geneva, where the talks on medium-range arms were also held. Andropov's Health Is Discussed The warning of a possible breakdown in the talks on strategic weapons came at a news conference at which a senior Communist Party official made the fullest statement yet on the health of Yuri V. Andropov, the Soviet leader.

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SHULTZ ASKS SOVIET TO PRESS SYRIA NOT TO WIDEN CONFLICT IN LEBANON

Date: 06 December 1983

By Bernard Gwertzman

Bernard Gwertzman

News session excerpts, page A20. WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 - Secretary of State George P. Shultz called on the Soviet Union today to use its influence with Syria ''to look at the Lebanon problem in a sensible way'' and not widen the conflict there. At a press conference in which virtually all questions were related to the American air attack on Syrian positions in Lebanon, Mr. Shultz was blunt in saying that ''we will defend ourselves'' if American reconnaissance planes are attacked again. But he said the American goal was to promote peace, not to enlarge the war.

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GRENADA AND LEBANON BRING A RUSH OF MEDALS

Date: 05 December 1983

Since the Revolutionary War, American soldiers have been awarded military decorations for gallantry in battle and participation in military campaigns. Now, as a result of American military involvement in Lebanon and Grenada, the various service branches have authorized the largest batch of medals and campaign ribbons since the Vietnam War. Congress and the White House have had their differences about the War Powers Act and the ultimate nature of the operations in Grenada and Lebanon, but this has not deterred Defense Department officials from moving to reward individual bravery and accomplishment and unit efficiency. Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger has also authorized a $65- a-month hostile-fire pay bonus.

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CRITICS IN CONGRESS DECLARE REAGAN IS HEADING FOR WAR

Date: 06 December 1983

By Steven V. Roberts

Steven Roberts

Critics of the Administration's Middle East policy in both parties expressed fears today that President Reagan was leading the country into war. They renewed calls for the removal of American troops from Lebanon. Supporters of Mr. Reagan argued that retaliatory air strikes ordered against Syrian positions over the weekend had been justified, to protect the Marine contingent based at the Beirut airport. But even these supporters worried openly that the intensifying battles in Lebanon could prove politically troublesome for the President and his fellow Republicans.

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BEFORE HIGH NOON

Date: 06 December 1983

By Mark A. Uhlig

Mark Uhlig

Virtually all arms control initiatives now under negotiation neglect the most fundamental truth of nuclear strategy: It is the quality, not the quantity, of nuclear weapons that determines the stability of the nuclear balance. Early arms control efforts sought to restrict both qualitative and quantitative improvements. Today, however, negotiations have come to focus almost exclusively on limiting the numbers of weapons, while far more important measures to halt improvements in the quality of those weapons have been quietly - and deliberately - laid aside. The dangers of this trend can hardly be overstated, because unlike the incremental risks posed by increases in the numbers of weapons, improvements in their quality are fast eroding the very foundations of the nuclear balance. Advances in missile guidance, anti-submarine warfare and other attack technologies are making possible a grave new offensive potential - the ability to destroy an adversary's own weapons and, thus, his capacity to strike back. This will remove the greatest deterrent to nuclear aggression: the threat of retaliation. By making nuclear war a winner-take-all contest, it will push superpower relations into a dark new age of acute instability in which aggression is rewarded and restraint is fatal.

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A PHYSICIAN FOR VENEZUELA'S ILLS

Date: 06 December 1983

By James Lemoyne

James Lemoyne

Twenty-five years ago, when the exiled Jaime Lusinchi worked at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, a dictator ruled Venezuela and the young doctor was dedicated to his overthrow. Today, with democracy long restored in his homeland, the 59-year- old Mr. Lusinchi, as President-elect, is preparing to take over the reins of power. On Sunday he led the opposition Democratic Action Party to what may be the biggest electoral victory since Venezuela returned to democratic rule in 1958. Some would say that Mr. Lusinchi, a pediatrician, is not the most compelling public speaker, but he effectively blamed the Government of President Luis Herrera Campins for the country's deep economic recession and promised to end what Venezuelans have come to call La Crisis. 'A One-on-One Politician' Unofficial returns by two major television stations and the Democratic Action Party give Mr. Lusinchi 48 to 56 percent of the more than seven million votes cast, with 28 to 35 percent going to his main opponent, Rafael Caldera of the governing Social Christian Party. The official returns have yet to be announced.

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EXCERPTS FROM SHULTZ'S COMMENTS ON THE MIDEAST AT HIS NEWS CONFERENCE

Date: 06 December 1983

Following are excerpts from a transcript of Secretary of State George P. Shultz's news conference in Washington yesterday, as recorded by The New York Times: Q. Is the United States prepared to keep the marines in Beirut until there is a national reconciliation, until the Lebanese Government is able to assert its sovereignty? A. Well, we will work with the Lebanese Government so that it can create a broadly based government for itself, and we will work for the removal of all foreign forces so that Lebanon can be sovereign over all its territory. Precisely what tactical moves will implement that policy remains to be seen, but we intend to see this through with the Government of Lebanon. Risk of the Clashes Q. Mr. Secretary, in our recent clashes with the Syrians and other elements in Lebanon, don't these place us in the position of becoming a party to the conflict? Are we becoming the enemy to some elements who then want to attack us? A. Well, there are many who try to put us in that position, but that's certainly not our position. We are there at the invitation of the duly constituted, legitimate Government of Lebanon. And we, as any armed force, is present with the understanding that, of course, we have the right to self-defense. And that's universal. And we will defend ourselves, as we are doing.

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INCOME AND S.A.T. SCORES: 'POSITIVE NEWS'

Date: 05 December 1983

To the Editor: Alan Gartner's letter on Nov. 14 asserts that I have attributed a decline in scholastic aptitude test scores to the increase in poor and minority students taking the exams. The assertion misrepresents my position. In the past three years, we have seen the following results of the S.A.T.'s in New York State: In 1981, for the first time in many years, we had an increase over the previous year in score averages for both verbal and mathematics tests. We had another increase in the verbal test average in 1982. The verbal test scores in 1983 then dropped significantly below the 1982 level.

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102 People in Congress Form a Rights Group

Date: 06 December 1983

AP

A group to protect human rights activists around the world has been formed by 102 members of Congress from both parties, the founders announced at a news conference today. Representative Tony P. Hall, Democrat of Ohio, a member of the group's steering committee, said it would be known as Congressional Friends of Human Rights Monitors.

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