The Michigan Daily-kednesday, May 13, 1981--Page 7
Syria fires missiles
From AP and UPI
JERUSALEM-Syria fired surface-
to-air missiles at Israeli jets over
eastern Lebanon yesterday and repor-
tedly patrolled the skies over northern
Lebanon in MiGs in a major escalation
of the Middle East crisis.
Syria claimed it shot down one plane
but Israel said all its jets returned
safely to base.
THE REAGAN administration was
trying desperately to keep the crisis
from erupting into war.
Prime Minister Menachem Begin
told Parliament after meeting with
President Reagan's envoy, Philip
Habib, that Israel would exhaust every
diplomatic means, but if none suc-
ceeded, "military means will be used."
Parliament backed Begin by a vote of
51-39 but failed to give him bipartisan
support.
The missile firing was announced by
the Israeli military command, which
said: "A number of Syrian surface-to-
air missiles were fired at noon today,
Tuesday, at Israel air force planes on a
routine reconnaissance flight in the
Bekaa Valley region in Lebanon. The
missiles apparently were fired from a
Syrian missile base located inside Syria
close to the Lebanese border near the
Bekaa Valley. 'The air force planes
were not hit and returned safely to their
base."
IN DAMASCUS, a Syrian military
spokesman claimed one Israeli recon-
naissance jet was brought down by
Syrian' "air defenses in the Bekaa"
yesterday morning. The Syrian an-
nouncement did not specify that
missiles were used and witnesses in the
Bekaa Valley denied that any planes
were downed.
The missile firing was first reported
by Lebanese citizens and a Lebanese
army officer who said two SAM-6s were
fired at the jets from halftrack vehicles
two miles south of the Lebanese airfield
at Rayak. They said missiles were fired
shortly before 5 a.m.
There was no explanation either for
the discrepancy between the time they
reported and the time announced by the
Israeli command, or the site of the
launch. The Syrian claim was that a
reconnaissance jet was downed shortly
before 5 a.m.
THE CHRISTIAN Voice of Lebanon
radio, which also carried the report of
the missile firing, said the Syrians also
have based MiG jet fighters at the
military base at Kleiat, 75 miles north
of Beirut, and that the MiGs already
were flying patrols over northern
Lebanon. The broadcast said two SAM-
6 missile batteries also were set up at
Kleiat.
There was no comment on the report
from Syria, which moved SAM-6 bat-
teries into Lebanon April 29, a day after
- Israeli jets shot down two Syrian
helicopter gunships attacking Zahle, a
stronghold of Israel's Christian allies
east of Beirut.
The Christian radio said three SAM-
6s were fired at four Israeli jets during
patrol flights over the Bekaa Valley at
daybreak yesterday, scoring no hits.
The incident underscored Syria's
refusal to bow to Israeli pressure to
remove the missiles from the Lebanese
arena.
HABIB ARRIVED from Damascus
Monday, met with Begin and conferred
with him again yesterday and then, ac-
cording to sources close to the Israeli
premier, decided to return to
Damascus Wednesday in hopes of
defusing the crisis. Israel Radio said
Begin told Habib he was setting no
deadlines, but warned that time was
growing short.
Winding up the parliamentary debate
yesterday, Begin failed to win the
bipartisan support he had hoped would
be forthcoming on his Lebanese policy.
FULL-SCALE SYRIAN WAR UNLIKELY:
Profs discuss Mideast
By ANN MARIE FAZIO
Althouglh Israel leaders warn that war with Syria is "inevitable"
if Syrian missile batteries remain in Lebanon, several University
professors agree that a full-scale war is unlikely.
Israeli and Syrian forces will continue to clash on a small scale,
the professors said, but the current crisis will probably not grow in-
to a declared war.
YET, THE CONFLICT IS EXTREMELY serious, according to
Political Science Prof. Jerrold Green.
"The situation is heating up instead of cooling down," Green
said. "It's only a matter of time before Syria downs a plane" or
Israel retaliates, he said.
Prof. William Zimmerman, also of the Political Science"Depar-
tment, agreed "there may be some shooting and killing" but an all-
out war is not likely to result.
ZIMMERMAN SAID HE also doubted that outside forces - the
United States or the Soviet Union - would be brought in. "This is a
local thing. The U.S. and Soviets are willing to let their proxies play
games."
According to Green, however, Syria may be playing
with fire. "Syria is taking a big chance" in firing at
Israeli planes, he said, because they can't predict the
magnitude of Israel's military retaliation.
Syria may want to heat the situation, however, to
discredit Egyptian President Anwar Sadat for par-
ticipating in the 1977 Camp David peace accord, or try
to win Saudi support, Green said.
THE UNITED STATES thus far has boen unsuc-
cessful in its attempts to cool the situation dewn, ac-
cording to Green. U.S: special envoy Philip Habib has
failed in his mission to "induce both sides to com-
promise," Green said.
Zimmerman said he too felt Habib's mission had not
succeeded but added that it is not Habib's fault.
"There are too many reasons why they (Israel and
Syria) want to fight" preventing Habib from
negotiating a truce, he said. "They are spoiling for a
fight."
Accused opera killer
jailed by judge
new classes beginning
May 18
NEW YORK (UPI) - Craig Crim-
mins, former stagehand accused of
hurling a woman violinist to her death
in a sex attack at the Metropolitan
Opera House, was jailed yesterday by a
judge who ruled there was an "ap-
preciable risk" Crimmins would flee as
his case neared the jury.
Crimmins, 22, who had been free on
$50,000 bail, faces a sentence of a
minimum of 15 years and a maximum
of life if convicted of the second-degree
murder and attempted rape charges
against him.
THE ORDER REVOKING Crimmins'
bail was issued by acting state Supreme
Court Justice Richard Denzer after the
prosecution completed its case.
Assistant District Attorney Roger
Hayes requested the lock up, saying his
case was strong and Crimmins might
flee.
The judge said, "The odds are in his
favor that he would appear in court ...
but there is a risk and I believe it is an
appreciable one.
"At this point, I just don't think I can
take the responsibility. While I dislike
doing it, I am going to revoke the
defendant's bail and remand him to the
custody of the New York City Correc-
tions Department."
DEFENSE ATTORNEY Lawrence
Hochheister, in an unsuccessful
arguement to keep his client free, said,
"If there is one thing certain in this
case ... it will be that the defendant will
be here when required."
He also said that the prosecution's
case was not as strong as Hayes
believed and that revocation of bail
would signal the jury that the justice
"thinks the case against Crimmins is
going badly" for the defense.
Denzer, in pre-trial hearings on what
evidence might be admitted in court,
had rejected an earlier request by
Hayes to jail Crimmins. The justice had
said then that he was impressed that
Crimmins had appeared every day in
court during the lengthy pre-trial
motions. '
A jury of seven women and five men
heard testimonies from 32 prosecution
witnesses over a 12-day period. They
we. a also shown two videotaped
statements Crimmins gave authorities,
one of which police have termed a con-
fession.
In the other videotape, Crimmins ad-
mitted having told police he kicked
violinist Helen Hagnes Mintiks to her
death at the Met last July 23 after a
rapes empt
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