NEWS
PLO Transcript
Exposed As Hoax
A Classic for Now
and Future Time.
Washington (JTA) —
Army Gen. H. Norman
Schwarzkopf s spokesman
has dismissed - as a "hoax" a
Palestine Liberation Organ-
ization transcript that
quotes him as saying U.S.
forces fought Iraq "for
Israel."
The transcript, which has
the four-star general making
disparaging comments about
Saudi Arabia's role in the
war, was obtained by
Hassan Abu Rahman, direc-
tor of the Arab League's
Palestine office here.
Mr. Rahman forwarded it
to the National Association
of Arab- Americans, which
then provided it to the
Hearst News Service.
The PLO said the Schwar-
zkopf interview was con-
ducted by Israeli Army
Radio, but it denies it ever
interviewed Gen. Schwar-
zkopf.
Army Maj. Olin Saunders,
a spokesman at the U.S.
Central Command in Tam-
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22
FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1991
pa, Fla., told Hearst, "This
interview did not take place.
It is a hoax."
Ruth Yaron, the Israeli
Embassy spokeswoman,
called the transcript "a
cheap and desperate ploy by
unnamed adversaries who
would use any measure to
drive a wedge between Israel
and the United States."
Referring to "anyone who
would fabricate something
like that and embarrass our
friend (Yassir Arafat)," Mr.
Rahman said that such a
person "would not be in a
good position."
He added that reports
about the purported phony
interview have been "blown
out of proportion. It does not
deserve all this attention."
"I believe that whether
they fought for Israel or not,
it is a beneficiary of this
war," Mr. Rahman added.
"The Israelis say so. The
Americans agree that this
war served the interests of
Israel."
Tel Aviv (JTA) — The
Israel Defense Force has
defended the quality of the
gas masks issued as protec-
tion against chemical attack
by Iraq in the Persian Gulf
war and denied a report that
it plans to replace them.
"Preliminary findings in-
dicate that most of the
masks may actually be used
longer than originally
planned," an IDF spokes-
man said.
"The IDF wishes to re-
iterate that the protective
equipment issued to citizens
of Israel is reliable and pro-
vides adequate defense," the
statement added.
But the Israeli daily
Ha'aretz claimed the IDF
plans to recall 5 million
masks as a result of a study
it undertook with the Haifa
Technion Institute of
Technology to check their ef-
ficiency.
A sampling of 2,500 gas
masks was tested to see if
their use during the war had
reduced their effectiveness.
According to Ha'aretz, the
study, begun two months
ago, found that repeated use
significantly reduced the
level of protection. The gas
masks were donned every
time an air raid alert sound-
ed during the seven-week
war.
"The study shows that
there is a need to replace all
mask outlets. Therefore, it is
our duty to give the entire
population new or repaired
masks," Ha'aretz said,
quoting what it described as
an official military.au-
thority.
The newspaper claimed
that exposure to perspira-
tion or other moisture
significantly damaged air
outlets, which became clogg-
A study found that
repeated use
significantly
reduced the level
of protection.
ed and needed to be replaced.
The mask study was or-
dered after State Comp-
troller Miriam Ben-Porat
issued a report following the
war, charging that the gas
masks and other protective
equipment issued to
civilians were substandard
and in many cases ineffec-
tive.
They were never tested
under combat conditions be-
cause none of the 39 Iraqi
Scud missiles fired at Israel
during the war carried
chemical warheads.