European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 21, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday. February 21. 1986 the stars and stripes Page 7 Carrier exercises proposed Oft libyan coast by Norman Black a military writer Washington the  administration is comi Dering flight operations Over the Gulf of Sidra off lib a s const in late March. Pentagon sources say. The sources said no final decision has been made but the operation could coincide with the arrival of a third aircraft Carrier in the Mediterranean next month.  there would be a larger . Military presence to re Spond Loans attempt by Libya Tob lock such flights. The sources who requested anonymity discus Seil tl1 matter in confirming a report in the Norfolk a \  Pilot saying the Carrier Saratoga had been ind Oclay its planned return from the Mediterranean. The carriers Saratoga and Coral sea have been operating in the Mediterranean since january. One source said tuesday that the two carriers will Likely conduct another exercise off Libya s coast in Early March but will probably remain North of the Gulf of Sidra. Another operation is being planned in late March however following the arrival of the Carrier America and those Maneu vers could Well involve a shallow incur Sion into the Gulf one source added. The Gulf is a Large a shaped body of water that cuts into the Central libyan coastline. Libya claims the Gulf As its own Waters a claim the United Stales dismisses. The last time libyan and . Jets engaged in combat in 1981, two . Jets were attacked As they flew Over the gulfs Waters. Two libyan planes were downed. The virginian Pilot reported that families of the Saratoga s Crew members had been notified during the weekend that the Carrier will be about two weeks late in returning arriving in april instead of late March. That report followed an earlier Public announcement by the Navy that the America would leave Norfolk for the Mediterranean on March 10, two weeks earlier than originally planned. The sources refused tuesday to say if the Saratoga s delay in sailing for Home would be iwo weeks but acknowledged that the Carrier would not be leaving As soon As the America arrived. Although it is not unusual for three . Carriers to oper ate in the Mediterranean such operations in the past have lasted Only a few Days not three or four weeks. Asked if the operation might include flights Over the Gulf of Sidra. A source replied if we were Ever going to do it that s the time to do it. You la have 250 air planes available among the three carriers. The United slates has been conducting exercises off Libya s coast in a show of resolve Ever since president Reagan accused libyan Leader col. Moa mar khad Afy of supporting the palestinian terrorist group which is believed to be responsible for the dec. 27 attacks on airports in Rome and Vienna. Austria. Although khad Afy has branded  exercises an aggressive  there has been no confrontation be tween . And libyan forces. Khad Afy has continued to warn however that Libya is prepared to defend the Gulf of Sidra As its own. In a separate development Pentagon spokesman Bob Sims said tuesday that the battleship Iowa left port in Norfolk for a show the Flag Mission off the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of . The Iowa and a guided missile frigate the John l. Hall will steam in the Caribbean off the Central Ameri can coast for several Days before travelling through the Panama canal to the Pacific Ocean. They will remain off the Pacific coast of Central America before returning through the canal to the Caribbean. Sims added. Marcos hired guns blamed in filipino s death club Dale Calif. Up an executive of an opposition philippine newspaper was found shot to death wednesday in his Home and the publisher blamed the killing on the Marcos hired  Oscar Salvatierra 41, the marketing director of the philippine news which opposes the government of president Ferdi nand Marcos had received a death threat tuesday at the newspaper s offices. The message crudely set in Cut pasted and typed words and letters accused the newspaper of unwarranted accusations and lies against the filipino Community and concluded by passing a death sentence against Salvatierra. So for your crimes you arc sentenced to death it said. Another administrator for the newspaper sales executive Stan Aragon also received a letter stating you Are going to be  editor Ben Anicelo said. Alex Esclamado the publisher of the san Francisco based weekly which has a nationwide circulation of about 100,000, told a news conference at its Glen Dale Bureau that the recently re elected Marcos was responsible for the killing. This is a political assassination he said. This act is a professional Job by one of the Marcos hired guns or agents in order to transport his terrorism within the Filipi no Community in the United  the newspaper has asked the los an Geles police department to provide Protection for members of its staff. A week before the presidential vote be tween incumbent Marcos and opposition candidate Corazon Aquino the publisher news executive Oscar Salvatierra with his wife Ligaya in a recent photograph. Said a Man being held in the los Angeles county jail told him of a plot to assassinate five pro Aquino filipinos. He warned leaders of the Aquino faction of the plot est Lancto said. I would not be surprised if part of the operation is to assassinate those key leaders in the opposition Here in the United states. I would not be surprised if or. Salvatierra is the first victim he said. Sen. Alan Cranston a Calif. And rep. Stephen solar?., d-n.y., urged the Fri to investigate the killing. On the basis of Marcos behaviour in the Philippines there is every reason to believe that the suspicions arc Well founded Cranston told reporters. I think there is a very Strong presumption Here that the government of the Philippines was behind this assassination so Larz said. It appears they have decided to Export their death squad activities from the Philippines to the United  Salvatierra a naturalized . Citizen lived with his wife four teen age children and his Mother said Dan Nino a correspondent at the newspaper. He had lived in the United states since 1959. Larry Zabala press officer for the philippine consulate in los Angeles condemned the killing but questioned any political links raised by the newspaper and political leaders calling Salvatierra a very diplomatic  i Hope the police will soon catch the person who did this because. Some peo ple might try to exploit this As a political thing and i Don t think it is Zabala said. Billig snaps at prosecutor in heated denial Washington a Navy or. Cmdr Donal m Billig angrily defended himself against manslaughter charges wednesday snapping at a prosecuting attorney As he repeatedly denied that he mishandled heart surgery and tried to conceal his background from the Billig the former head of heart surgery at Bethesda my naval Hospital finished a Long and i 5 Cross examination in which he acknowledged that he did not reveal his prior use of marijuana and amphetamines when he entered the military. Spending his 55th birthday on the stand Billig was combative and expressed irritation at questions by assistant prosecutor it. Cmdr. Joseph Van Winkle. Do you not hear what i say. Or Are you just purposely trying to distort it he asked at one Point. Several times Billig told the prosecutor not to interrupt we and several limes he said he would t answer a cause of the manner of questioning. At one Point he told Van Winkle Don t get smart now. Explaining Why his name did not appear on Post operation reports. Billig said. One of the things you have to learn and when you grow up maybe you la learn it is you have to Delegate  Billig is undergoing a military court martial on five charges of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of patients during or soon after open heart surgery. He also faces 24 counts of dereliction of duty for operations in which the government contends that Billig should have had supervision to perform. The prosecution ended its Cross examination after questioning Billig at length about his earlier testimony. After a Brief round of rebuttal questioning Billig stepped Down from the stand after undergoing More than 28 hours of questioning Over five Days. Prosecutors questioned Billig about his past and about individual cases at Bethesda in an Effort to demonstrate inconsistencies in his Story. In one of the five cases an operation on a 41-year-old woman Billig at one Point appeared to say that he did not cause the tear in her Aorta that led to her death in the operating room. "1 do not recall putting my Finger into the Aorta he said. But he later said i would not say my Finger did t do it but it was very gently touching the  in another Case Billig disputed the government s charge that he improperly matched blood vessels of Dif Ferent sizes in a coronary bypass operation. He said that tissues preserved by a pathologist which prosecutors say show an improper match of blood vessels were a moldy piece of junk and did not reflect the size of the blood vessels during the operation. Van Winkle raised the Issue of drug use by citing a military application form in which Billig said he had not used illicit drugs. Over the objection of defense attorneys Van Winkle then read from a sworn statement by Billig s former wife from a contested divorce proceeding. She said Billig had used marijuana in the 1970s and had used dexedrine an amphetamine in the 1960s. Billig said he used dexedrine while a surgical resident and that it was common because of the Long hours of work. Asked if he had a prescription Billig said "1 certainly did. I wrote it  he said he used marijuana in a very limited Way and had never used it after joining the Navy in 1982. Defense attorneys said they had one More witness to Call and prosecution lawyers said they expected to Call several rebuttal witnesses before presenting the Case to the jury of nine Navy officers next week