Reported Protection for North Tied to Fears He’s on Terrorist ‘Hit List’

Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, who was fired from the National Security Council staff, is being given round-the-clock protection because of fears he is on a terrorist “hit list,” NBC News reported Monday night.

North, fired by President Reagan last November for his alleged role in the scandal, has been guarded by the Naval Investigative Service for about two weeks, NBC said.

The report said that the protection of North is not related to his role in the scandal, but instead stems from the U.S. air raid on Libya in April last year.

NBC said North is reported to be on the top of a terrorist “hit list” for his role in planning the attack on Libya, and for his part in planning the interception of an Egyptian airliner carrying the terrorists who hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985.

Walsh Firm Ties to CIA

Meanwhile, Lawrence E. Walsh, the independent counsel investigating the Iran- contra scandal, said in an interview with United Press International that an Oklahoma City law firm he belongs to represented a company once owned by the CIA that allegedly flew arms to Iran.

But Walsh said that the firm, Crowe & Dunlevy, only handled two routine transactions with Southern Air Transport Inc. in 1985 and 1986 and has not had “an ongoing relationsip” with the Miami firm under federal investigation for helping ship arms to the Nicaraguan rebels.

Walsh acknowledged the link between his firm and the former CIA operation after it was reported by ABC News, which said that reporters for KTOK radio and the Oklahoma Gazette had obtained bills of sale that showed that other lawyers with the firm of Crowe & Dunlevy handled the legal work in 1985 for the purchase of three Boeing 707s by Southern Air Transport.

Federal sources told ABC that two of the three planes purchased in 1985 later flew covert arms to the Middle East that eventually landed in Iran.

‘Not a Conflict’

Walsh said Monday that the connection was “not a conflict of interest and could not be construed as a conflict of interest” because the air cargo company was not a longtime client of the firm.

In another development, Israel allowed congressional investigators in Washington to review a report on its role in the Iran arms deal but refused to allow the documents to be taken from the Israeli Embassy without assurances of confidentiality and immunity, officials said.

An Israeli official confirmed that Israel was seeking a promise of confidentiality from the investigators. The Washington Post, in its editions today, reported that Israel also is seeking limited immunity for Israelis involved in the arms sales.