Diary Entry - 09/04/1983
Key Facts
President Reagan meets with bipartisan Congressional leaders to discuss the Korean airliner incident and the situation in Lebanon.
Israel withdraws its troops from central Lebanon, setting off fierce fighting between Christian and Druse militias struggling to control the area.
To the Oval Office for a meeting with Congressional leadership—Dems. & Repubs. Met with our team at 9:30 A.M.—general meeting at 10 A.M. Meeting was very good—ran til 1 P.M. Dealt 1st & longest with Korean Plane. Ran a tape of conversation between 2 Soviet pilots including the one who stated he had locked on his radar guided air to air missiles, launched them & “target destroyed.” I’m going on air 8 P.M. tomorrow night to tell the story & announce our plans. Strom Thurmond made a great suggestion. We know the whereabouts of many K.G.B. agents [. . .] We’re looking into the practicality of this. [. . .] That would be shooting our selves in the foot. Second half of meeting was on Lebanon. I believe we have D. support for what we’re doing there. We may be on the verge of showing the world a truly united front.
