CMP.WERNER@UTEXAS-20.ARPA (08/31/84)
From: Werner Uhrig <CMP.WERNER@UTEXAS-20.ARPA> it was NOT a B1-B that crashed, seems to be today's concencus in the press. Hope you-all didn't miss the interview of David Hartman with the crew of the crashed bomber, taken a while back, and aired in the evening news (ABC, I believe) - fantastic portrait and flying scenes. Thursday nite, 20/20 had a report by Rivera on the KAL 007 'accident'. The conclusion, which he arrived at and which his INDEPENDENT experts proposed, is that a) the KAL-pilot did it on purpose b) US surveillance watched everything and did nothing c) the Russian act is despicable, no matter what Why the KAL-pilot did it is not clear. Spying and fuel-reasons seem to have been discarded as 'not supported'. From the fact that US-surveillance was capable and, actually, did monitor the unfolding event, it is not clear that the fact that noone seemed to be triggered to do anything to inform the stray plane of it's position and danger, can and should be taken as US-complicity. I certainly do not expect military personel monitoring that airspace to have had instructions to do 'ANYTHING' under the observed circumstance - they may or may not have NOW such instructions. Tonite, Friday, look for a report on ABC on the topic '1 year later - can it happen again', not sure what time - maybe in Koppel's Nightline. -------