Diary Entry - 06/21/1985
Key Facts
President Reagan meets with families of the hostages held in Beirut.
President Reagan travels to Dallas, TX to address the Convention of Lions Club International.
Off to Dallas Texas to address Convention of Lions Club International.
In Dallas met back stage with several families of the Hostages. They are of course uptight & looking for a ray of hope. I tried to provide that plus re-assurance that we weren’t planning any military actions that could endanger their loved ones. They seemed very grateful & re-assured. We are proceeding with a plan to have the Algerians intercede & ask that the hostages be turned over to them. In turn they want to be able to tell Berri that once the hostages are free the Israelis plan to continue returning the Shiites they hold. We were able to get a statement approximating that. F.M. Rabin (Israel) by going public with a statement that the U.S. should ask them to release the Shiites loused things up by establishing a linkage we insist does not exist.
Then it was speech time—15,000 Lions from 50 countries. My reception was enthusiastic. I included a pitch for tax reform.
Back to Andrews A.F.B.—met Nancy & we helicoptered to Camp David. I had a batch of phone calls to make—5 Judge appointments & 1 Ambas.
