European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 16, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Woodstock 20 years later see pages 13-16 the St is and stripes authorized unofficial publication for the . Armed forces vol. 48, no. 121 wednesday August 16, 1989 Good morning d 8693 a Ess looks to Iran on hostages Bush can f predict whether they la be freed soon Washington a president Bush said tues Day he can t offer any assurances that american hos tages in the Middle East will be freed soon and added that his administration continues to wait for signs of change from Iran. I think that if Iran decided they wanted those hos tages to come out of there Bush said there would be a Good likelihood that that would happen perhaps not with certainty but a Good likelihood. We Don t have to be hostile with Iran for the rest of our lives he added. The United states broke off diplomatic relations with Iran a decade ago. At a pre vacation news conference at the White House Bush was questioned repeatedly about the possibility of military action against those holding the hostages. He replied that at some Point we have to stand up for our interests even if it Means military yet i m not threatening military  later he added if i could find a Way to take those hostages get them and bring them out and that required using the military Force of the United states make no mistake about it i would do it in an  the president fielded questions for 30 minutes on subjects ranging from economic policy to drug abuse. On those topics he refused to Rule out kidnapping Panama s do Facto Leader Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega to bring him to trial on drug trafficking charges. I have an obligation to try to bring people to Justice he said. Promised to return sept. 5 from his vacation in Maine with a comprehensive plan to attack the National menace of drug abuse. He said his plan would we Don t have to be hostile with Iran for the rest of our  president Bush include additional Federal spending but would not re quire higher taxes. Said he wished the Legal process could move along without a lot of hype in the Case of Felix Bloch a state department official suspected of espionage. Bloch has not been charged. Called on the  Senate to act speedily on More than 100 High level government appointments that await confirmation. Eulogized reps. Mickey Leland and Larkin Smith who died in recent Days in separate plane crashes. He said the two were Fine individuals who represented a deep caring for the poor the disadvantaged the victims of drug abuse and crime and Many other  Bush was questioned repeatedly about the recent flurry of sensitive diplomatic efforts aimed at winning the release of the eight americans held hostage in the Middle East. He noted conflicting signals from Iran in recent weeks. The hostages arc thought to be held by the shiite religious group Hezbollah or party of god. Faction heavily influenced by the iranians. We re going to keep on trying but i can t give you a definitive assessment of whether the hostages Are any closer to Freedom Bush said. I just Don t know. There s a lot of lines out there a lot of initiatives have been  asked Why he did not retaliate militarily after Cap tors said they had killed la. Col. William  said the United states still did not have adequate information to take either a diplomatic or military response. On july 31, Higgins captors released a videotape that showed him hanging from a makeshift Gallows but the Pentagon still is not certain when or now he actually died. I do not want to be responsible for the loss of innocent  Bush said adding that he is also concerned that an american response could Lead to harm for the remaining eight hostages. Iranian minister Dampens Hopes of securing westerners release Damascus Syria a Iran s foreign minister on tuesday dampened Hopes of securing the release of Western hostages held by pro iranian shiite moslem militants in  Akbar Velamati considered a pro Western mod Erate told reporters after meeting syrian foreign min ister Farouk Al Sharaa our talks with our syrian Brothers will not have anything to do with the hostage Issue since this Issue docs not concern  but he declared that Israel must unconditionally re lease a pro iranian cleric Sheik Abdul Karim Obeid kid napped by its commandos in South Lebanon on july 28. Velamati s comments indicated the iranians do not plan to use their influence with the lebanese Kidnap groups to free Western captives until Obeid is released. Sixteen westerners half of them americans Are missing in Lebanon. Most of them arc believed to be held captive by shiite factions linked to the fundamentalist Hezbollah or party of  s seizure dramatically changed the Long run Ning hostage crisis. Hopes were brightening that the june 3 death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the subsequent election As president of Hashemi Raf Sanja in Leader of Iran s so called pragmatists. Signalled More iranian  has said it will Exchange Obeid for three israeli servicemen held by moslem groups in Lebanon As Well As the hostages. Hezbollah has refused to Deal. Velamati who arrived in Damascus on monday for see hostages on Back Page bodies of Leland 15 others recovered from crash site Addis Ababa Ethiopia a the bodies of . Rep. Mickey Leland and the is 9lhers in his delegation were lifted off a Mountainside in Southwest pm Ethiopia tuesday officials said. We be got them All air Force capt. Kevin Kre Jarck told reporters in the capital upon his return from Gambell a town near the crash site. The site has now been  the bodies lifted one by one from the wreckage by helicopters hovering near the face of a sheer Cliff were flown to Gambell where they were placed aboard an ethiopian air Force cargo plane for return to the capital . Marine it col. David Titus said the bodies would be identified in Addis Ababa by a team of . Forensic experts a process he said could take up to a week. . Military mortuary service teams and up to eight tons of survival equipment were scheduled to leave West Germany for Ethiopia on tuesday. Two c-130 Hercules cargo planes carrying Rescue Tea Sand fuel left the capital shortly after Dawn for Gam Beta about 35 Miles Southeast of the crash site where the were joined by two Black Hawk helicopters in the opera Tion said . Embassy spokesman James Hale. Heavy Clouds rain and Low visibility were believed see Leland on Back Page homage to dead emperor Akihito and Empress Michko to deeply at Tokyo s Budakan Hall tuesday As they pay tribute to Japan s 3.1 million War dead and Mark the 44th anniversary of the atomic bomb Ings that ended Wii. Related Story photos on pages 3 and 5