Mideast Hijacking
The hijacking of TWA Flight 847 was a success for the terrorists. They got good media coverage and an articulate spokesman in Allen B. Conwell who orated expertly on the Shia line of propaganda. He even remarked, “. . . if my wife and children were kidnaped and held across that border, I might do something . . .”
Does Conwell and the other sympathizers of the terrorists know why the Israelis have detained several hundred Lebanese? There are charges against these men. They were approhended illegally bearing arms, concealing arms and explosives or taking part in quasi-military operations against the Israelis. The government in Jerusalem was processing these detainees for release as security permitted. This alone negated the professed purpose of the hijacking.
TV coverage also aided the terrorists with the amount of coverage as well as the insistent probing questions asked of our officials--questions that could not be answered without endangering the hostages.
BERNARD BLOOM
Los Angeles
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