January 19, 1987 - the Battle of Basra continues in the seemingly endless (going on 7 year) Iran-Iraq War. A suspect in the TWA Flight 847 Hijacking in 1985 is being held in Bonn, West Germany. Fears of terrorist reprisals. U.S. entry in Americas Cup wins latest round. Long Island Railroad on strike for 2nd day. 22,000 Steelworkers urged to approve new contact with USX. Dollar sinks to new low in Tokyo and Martin Luther King's Birthday is celebrated in 37 states.
January 19, 2012

Iran-Iraq-War---1987.jpg
Perhaps Helmets For Hostages too?


The latest in the seemingly endless (going into year 7 without a letup) war between Iraq and Iran hit a new milestone on this day with Iran poised to capture the Iraqi town of Basra. The fortunes of war weren't going well for Iraq and the German press were circulating rumors the U.S. was standing by to jump in. The State Department vehemently denied the report, even though U.S. warships were cruising around the Persian Gulf.

In other news this rather haywire day in 1987; a suspect in the terrorist hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985 which resulted in the shooting death of a Navy Seal was being held in a cell in Bonn West Germany. With threats of extradition to the U.S. also came the threat of reprisals from terrorists and the citizenry of Bonn were understandably nervous.

On the Domestic front - the Long Island Railroad strike was heading into its second day with commuters forced to take alternate transportation. And even though it was a holiday, snarls were bad enough in Manhattan to force a run on Valium for the next day. Meanwhile, talks lumbered on.

22,000 Steelworkers were urged by their union today to accept the new contract from USX.

The U.S. entry in the Americas Cup Race won this day's round against New Zealand. They got to face Australia shortly.

The dollar sank to a new post-War low against the Yen in Tokyo. At last count, 150 Yen to the dollar and Japan was worried exports would suddenly slow to a crawl.

And 37 states celebrated Martin Luther King's Birthday today for the first time.

All this and a lot more via the CBS World News roundup for (Monday), January 19, 1987.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon