A Plot Thickens

Hunting for the hitmen

The initial but unconfirmed reports that a Libyan hit squad had been dispatched to the U.S. by Muammar Gaddafi to assassinate President Reagan and other high federal officials took a more ominous turn last week. Intelligence officials grilling an informant about the plot are now impressed by the amount of detail he provided about the training and equipping of Libyan assassination teams. The informant claimed that five Libyan hitmen had already entered the U.S.

While corroboration of the informant’s disclosures has not yet been established, FBI, Secret Service and CIA agents questioning him were worried enough to urge a nationwide search for the would-be assassins. The plotters were reportedly working on a number of options, including firing a surface-to-air missile at the President’s plane, Air Force One; shooting rockets at his limousine; and attacking him with handguns. The alleged motive for the Libyan assault: Gaddafi’s determination to seek revenge after U.S. military planes returned the fire of two Libyan aircraft and shot them down over the Gulf of Sidra in August. A Libyan government spokesman in Tripoli dismissed the reports as a product of “the CIA fantasy farm.” Said he: “There is no such hit team working under orders from the Libyan [government].”

Beyond the man hunt, which involved FBI and Secret Service interviews with many Americans who may have had recent links with Libya, security precautions continued to be tightened around the President, Vice President George Bush, Secretary of State Alexander Haig and members of the Reagan family. In addition, Secret Service protection was extended for the first time to the President’s top aides, James Baker, Michael Deaver and Edwin Meese. White House officials, however, were understood to be extremely concerned about disclosures of specific security addafi measures.

One U.S. intelligence official summed up the situation as “a very serious threat.” Said a high law-enforcement officer about the terrorists: “They want to make a sensation. If they can’t get the President, they are apparently under instructions to kill anyone close to him.” Said Reagan, talking about the threats from Libya: “I think in view of the record, you can’t dismiss them out of hand.” Nevertheless, the President added, “they’re not going to change my life much.” ·