Dr. Ludwig de Braeckeleer

Blaming the victims of US foreign policy

Part 52 – AUGUST 23 1988 "The greatest crime since World War II has been U.S. foreign policy." 
- Ramsey Clark, Former U.S. Attorney General under President Lyndon Johnson Today, Admiral Crowe has blamed the Iranians for the downing of one of their airliner by the USS Vincennes. '' Iran must bear the principal responsibility for the tragedy,'' Crowe added.

Iran Iraq cease fire operational

Part 51 – AUGUST 22, 1988 ''The cease-fire is operational. I have no information about violations and everything is going very fine.'' - Maj. Gen. Slavko Jovic, Yugoslav commander of the monitoring force Iraqi and Iranian officials are accusing each others of violations of the cease fire. But UN officials monitoring the border have reported no such incidents so far.

Iran-Iraq cease fire ends 8-year war

Part 50 – AUGUST 21, 1988 ''I really think both countries are serious. They are committed to the cease-fire.'' - Javier Perez de Cuellar, United Nations Secretary General Today, the cease-fire between Iraq and Iran, arranged by the United Nations, went into effect at 7 A.M. local time. No violations have been reported.

US navy to discipline no one

Part 49 – AUGUST 20, 1988 ''Perhaps the most puzzling mistake was the ultimate call of Flight 655 as descending instead of climbing. Everyone agreed that the plane was climbing until it was 15 miles away, when information passed to the captain became inconsistent. The reason for the inconsistency remains unclear.'' - Admiral Crowe Today, Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci said that no one from the United States Navy would be disciplined for the downing of an Iranian civilian jetliner by the USS Vincennes in the Persian Gulf on July 3.

Iranian airliner was sending civilian signal, not military

Part 48 – AUGUST 19, 1988 Governments lie. They do it all the time. And, much as we'd like to believe otherwise, the US government is no exception. There were times when we may have believed otherwise. But after Vietnam and Watergate, we know better. - Ted Koppel, The USS Vincennes: Public War, Secret War, July 1 1992, ABC News Today, ABC News reported that the Pentagon investigation into the American downing of an Iranian Flight 665 has found that the airliner was emitting only a civilian signal.

U.S. to finance Gulf peacekeeping force, Pakistan president was determined to stay

Part 47 – AUGUST 18, 1988 ''I really have been a reluctant ruler. Really, you can say that. But I am not a person to just give up in disgust and walk away. I am determined to stay here until I solve all of the many problems that continue to face our country.'' - General Zia At a special meeting today, the General Assembly unanimously agreed to start financing the UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in Iran and Iraq to monitor the fragile cease-fire.

Pakistan president dies in mysterious air crash

Part 46 – AUGUST 17 1988 "Of all the violent political deaths in the twentieth century, none with such great interest to the U.S. has been more clouded than the mysterious air crash that killed president, and Army Chief General, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan in August 1988, a tragedy that also claimed the life of the serving American ambassador and most of General Zia’s top commanders." - Barbara Crossette, Bureau chief of The New York Times in South Asia from 1988 to 1991 Today, George Bush announced that he has chosen Dan Quayle as his running mate. Before answering questions at a news conference at Bush headquarters in New Orleans, the vice president commented on the tragic death of Pakistan President Zia.

Master under God…No more?

Part 45 – AUGUST 16 1988 ''The officer had the info in front of him. He disregarded information on the ship's computer. [The computer was telling him] the approaching aircraft was not a military plane.'' - US Official commenting on the Pentagon Report For immemorial times, Captains have exercised absolute authority at sea. Consequently, early insurance writs, agreements with ship owners and passengers and the Board of Trade, dubbed them "Master Under God".

Bush: I will never apologize for the United States of America

Part 44 – AUGUST 15 1988 "I will never apologize for the United States of America, ever. I don't care what the facts are." - Vice President George H. W. Bush, Newsweek, August 15, 1988 In the aftermath of the downing of an Iranian airliner by the USS Vincennes in the Persian Gulf on July 3, VP Bush, who was campaigning in the Mid West, made the unforgettable statement rated by some observers as one of the most stupid comments ever made by a vice President.

Crime without punishment

Part 43 – AUGUST 14 1988 ''Our society finds truth too strong a medicine to digest undiluted. In its purest form, truth is not a polite tap on the shoulder. It's a howling reproach. What Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai were not the Ten Suggestions. They are Commandments. Are, not were.'' - Ted Koppel, Address to the 1987 graduating class at Duke University

Will cease fire stabilize oil prices?

Part 42 – AUGUST 13, 1988 ''People will be less willing to put up with rationing and deprivation after the war. They will look for a grateful state to provide a land fit for heroes, but that will not be easy or cheap.'' - Don Kerr, Analyst for the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London ''If the Gulf War can be resolved, that will greatly relieve tensions within OPEC,'' argues Mehdi Varzi, senior oil analyst for Kleinwort Grieveson Securities Ltd. in London.

Mandela treated for Tuberculosis

Part 41 – AUGUST 12, 1988 "It would be immoral for me to abandon Libya after it had helped the African National Congress to fight apartheid, which had been one of the most brutal systems in the world." - President Nelson Mandela of South Africa, 22 October, 1997 Yesterday, the Iranian government released a 45 rial postage stamp illustrating the downing of Iran Flight 665 by the USS Vincennes on July 3rd.

The man who knew too little

Part 40 – AUGUST 11, 1988 ''While you have been in America, Mr. Giaka, have you encountered someone called Mitty, first name Walter?'' - Richard Keen QC On August 11 1988, Majid Giaka returns to the US Embassy. Giaka will become the super star witness of the Crown in their case against the two Libyans accused of the bombing of Pan Am 103. Curiously enough, the CIA knew all along that Giaka knew absolutely nothing about the tragedy.

Libyan Intelligence operative contacts US embassy in Malta

Part 39 – AUGUST 10, 1988 "Mr Giaka, you are a liar, aren t you? Mr Giaka, you tell big lies and you tell small lies, but you lie, do you not?" - Richard Keen QC [1] On August 10 1988, Abdul Majid Giaka contacted the US embassy in Malta. Giaka was interviewed by a CIA agent to whom he told that he was a member of the Libyan Intelligence Service. A decade later, Giaka will appear at the Zeist trial and testify that two of his former colleagues had planted the bomb that destroyed Pan Am 103.

Iran - Iraq cease fire set for August 20

Part 38 – AUGUST 9, 1988 ''I now call upon the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Iraq to observe a cease-fire and to discontinue all military action on land, at sea and in the air as of 0300 G.M.T. on Aug. 20, 1988.'' - Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar Today, Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar announced that Iran and Iraq will begin a cease-fire on Aug. 20. Direct talks on a permanent peace accord will begin in Geneva five days later.

Tehran accepts plan by Iraq for truce and direct talks

Part 37 – AUGUST 8, 1988 ''Yes, we accepted the proposal of the Secretary General on the face-to-face negotiations after the cease-fire.'' - Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran Foreign Minister According to the Un Secretary General, Ali Akbar Velayati, the Iranian Foreign Minister, has promised to send him a letter formally accepting the compromise proposal put forward by the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein.

Saddam ready to accept cease fire

Part 36 – AUGUST 7, 1988 ''We extend a hand of friendship and peace to the people of Iran in spite of the bitterness we feel deep inside for the aggression that has afflicted us.'' - President Saddam Hussein of Iraq Today, President Saddam Hussein of Iraq announced that he would accept the UN proposed cease fire if Iran agrees to begin direct peace talks immediately after the truce.

Congress opposes Reagan plan to compensate Iranians

Part 34 – AUGUST 5 1988 ''I haven't seen a vote here for you yet. If there was a vote today, you would not get Congressional approval.'' - US Representative Ike Skelton, Democrat of Missouri President Reagan has announced that the United States would compensate the families of the 290 victims who died in the downing of Iran Flight 665 by the USS Vincennes on July 3rd.

Can we know the truth?

Part 35 - AUGUST 6, 1988 ''Aegis is just one of many flawed weapons the United States is buying, weapons often unsuited to a real combat environment.'' - Denny Smith, US Representative and Vietnam War veteran News leaked about the Navy's internal investigation of the destruction of an Iranian passenger jet by the Aegis cruiser Vincennes last month have already created some embarrassment for the administration.

US Administration cautious on Airbus inquiry

Part 33 – AUGUST 4, 1988 ''The news report has proved what we have said until now and in my speech to the Security Council. The United States has full responsibility in this matter.'' -- Ali Akbar Velayati, Foreign Minister of Iran The Reagan Administration reacted cautiously today to a news report that a military investigation would show that mistakes by the crew aboard an American warship in the Persian Gulf were responsible for the downing of an Iranian airbus a month ago.