U.S. Officers Detained, Freed in E. Germany

Soviet military personnel in East Germany detained a team of U.S. military officers for 7 1/2 hours on the eve of President Bush’s summit with Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the Pentagon said Monday.

“There were no U.S. or Soviet injuries. U.S. personnel were released later that day. The incident is under investigation,” a Pentagon spokesman, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Ken Satterfield, said.

Satterfield said the U.S. team was “on their assigned mission” which involved observing installations near Halle in East Germany.

It was not immediately clear how many U.S. and Soviet personnel were involved in the incident.

The spokesman said the vehicle in which the U.S. team was riding was held and “a tire was punctured with a bayonet.” Satterfield said the team was not threatened.

The incident, which was confirmed by several other Pentagon officials, has raised tempers among some military officers.

The U.S. military mission in Potsdam was established under a 1947 accord that allowed the Western allies and the Soviets to set up such offices in each other’s occupied zones of Germany.

The incident had not been announced by U.S. authorities, and Pentagon officials offered information about it when questioned by reporters.

“They don’t want to elevate this,” said one Pentagon source, referring to efforts by U.S. officials to minimize the incident at a time of improving U.S.-Soviet relations.

Satterfield said he was not aware that any official protest had been filed over the detention.

“The incident was not routine, but it’s not unheard of, either,” he said. “It’s being handled on a military-to-military basis.”

The spokesman said the liaison officers operate under an agreement that allows contentious issues such as these to be discussed between U.S. and Soviet military commanders.

In 1985, Army Maj. Arthur D. Nicholson Jr., 37, assigned to the U.S. military liaison mission at Potsdam, was killed by Soviet guards near the town of Ludwigslust, in East Germany. Soviets officials said at the time that Nicholson was taking photographs in a restricted area.