European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 2, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Theses vol. 50, no. 233 monday december 2,1991 authorized unofficial publication for the . Armed forces35c d 8693 a Cicippio to be released soon abductors say As arabs freed hostages out by Christmas Sheik predicts from staff and wire reports Beirut Lebanon a shiite Muslim kidnappers said sunday that they would free american hostage Joseph Cicippio within 48 hours. In South Lebanon an israeli Allied militia released 25 Arab prisoners to support . Hostage efforts. A we done to expect anything today most Likely tomorrow monday a said a diplomatic source speaking on condition of anonymity in syrians capital Damascus. A statement from the revolutionary Justice organization was accompanied by a photograph of Cicippio 61, acting comptroller of the american University of Beirut when he was kidnapped from the Campus on sept. 12,1986. The arabic language communique delivered to a Western news Agency in Bei rut also praised . Efforts to end the hostage crisis and said the United nations agreed to push Israel to free More Arab detainees. A it looks real. I Shallah god willing it will be True a said Cicippio a lebanese wife Ilham. About three Public affairs specialists arrived at the joint information Bureau at Lindsey air station in Wiesbaden Germany on sunday afternoon to pre it Are for a potential american hostage re ease. Senior airman Charles w. Ramey said that the Bureau was not officially open yet but that it was waiting for word of the next release. Most released american hostages opt for a medical checkup at the air Force Hospital at Wiesbaden before they return to the United states. Meanwhile sunday ranking shiite Muslim clergymen predicted a final and comprehensive solution to the nine year hostage problem by Christmas. And an Arab Magazine reported that Iran had decided to resolve the hostage problem by the years end while dozens of lebanese factions involved in taking hostages scrambled to Tehran Iran to discuss their future Security. A fall foreign hostages will be freed on the eve of Christmas As a gift a said Sheik Abdel Emir Kabalan a member of the pro government higher shiite Council. Kabalan speaking at his Hometown of Ansari Yeh nine Miles East of the port City of Sanaa expressed optimism that the see freed on Page 2 this photograph of Joseph Cicippio was released by his captors sunday. Shuttle Atlantis returns after Mission is Cut Short Edwards air Force base Calif. A space shuttle Atlantis touched Down on he California desert sunday afternoon with six astronauts ordered Home three Days Early because of a failed navigational unit. Shuttle commander Frederick Gregory fired the braking rockets Over the Indian Ocean about an hour before touchdown. The firings reduced Atlantis Speed of 17,500 Mph by 242 Mph and sent the orbiter plunging toward Earth. High winds in the Mojave desert prevented Gregory from returning on the first Landing Opportunity vhf hours or one orbit earlier. The gusts diminished later Clearing the Way for a Landing. Nasa shortened the military Mission to seven Days after a navigational unit failed saturday. The spaceships two other guidance units were working and the Crew was in no danger officials said. Flight rules stipulate that a shuttle return As soon As possible to Edwards rather than the other Landing Sites when a navigational unit fails. The 44-Square-mile dry Lak bed is considered the least risky touchdown spot. About 125 people gathered in 54-Dcgrce temperature to watch Atlantis arrive at the base. Flight director Phil Engelauf said the shuttle can Fly Quot just Fine with two navigational devices called inertial measurement units or Imus. The units Tell on Board computers where the shuttle is and How fast its going. The failed unit was disconnected from the orbiter computer system. Although the device was Able to provide Correct data on the ships orientation it gave the wrong Speed Nasa said. The astronauts were not supposed to return to Earth until wednesday after 10 Days in space. Atlantis blasted off on the years last shuttle flight on nov. 24 the Crew successfully dispatched a missile warning satellite for the Pentagon the next Day. It is Only the second time in 44 shuttle flights that see Atlantis on Page 2 a War is hell but atomic bombs warrant no apology Bush snaps Washington a president Bush ruled out any apology to Japan for the atomic bombs the United states dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end world War ii. A not from this president a Bush said brusquely in a taped interview on Abc televisions this week with David Brinkley released sunday. A War is hell a but president Harry Truman a decision a spared millions of american lives a Bush said. Bush a Navy Pilot who was shot Down by the japanese during world War ii will attend saturdays Observance in Hawaii of the japanese air raid on dec. 7, 1941, that decimated the Pacific Fleet and propelled the United states into world War ii. He also plans a visit to Japan next month. Bush bristled when told that some japanese leaders believe the United states owes Japan an apology for the destruction wrought on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. A not from this president a Bush snapped. A i was fighting Over there. I had my orders to go Back there when the War was  Bush said he empathize with parents who lost children in the nuclear explosions but he noted that six of the 15 pilots in his Squadron were killed in the War. A so War is hell and its a terrible thing but there should be no apology requested and that in my View is rank revisionism a Bush said. Truman a made a Tough calculating decision and it was right because it spared the lives of millions of american citizens a Bush said. He has said previously that the decision spared a possibly tens of millions of japanese civilians who would have died in an invasion. Bush said he believes Japan appreciates what Thesee bombs on Page 2