. . . or click on the link here for Audio Player – CBS World News Roundup + Hourly news – March 9, 1979
Optimism was the big word for this March 9th in 1979.
President Carter arrived in Cairo the previous night to meet Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. On this day they were traveling by train to Alexandria, discussing the Egyptian-Israeli Peace settlement and the last minute sticking points. Sadat referred to those points as “a few words here and there”, but insisted both Egypt and Israel were in agreement on the main principles.
Likewise, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin said there were “a few words here and there”, and President Carter was scheduled to discuss those issues with Begin when he arrived in Tel-Aviv on the 10th. Amid caution, both Israel and Egypt agreed a Peace Treaty could be signed in a matter of weeks if all went according to plan.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council was scheduled to meet this day to discuss Israeli policy in territories occupied since 1967. Jordan took the initiative in condemning Israel’s policies in those territories before the latest round in Middle East diplomacy began, and the entire 42 member Islamic group of nations called for debate, no matter what the status of Egyptian-Israeli Settlement talks was. Jordan claimed Israel appropriated 29% of its land and 70% of its water resources in the area.
The U.S. was trying to prevent publication of a story, slated to run in the November issue of Progressive Magazine, which dealt with the Hydrogen Bomb. The article entitled; “How A Hydrogen Bomb Works” was said to contain highly classified information on the design, manufacture and use of atomic weapons -fact that could reduce the time that some nations would need to develop their own bomb from decades down to just a few years.
And Greta Rideout of Salem Oregon filed for divorce from her estranged husband John, two months after reconciliation following the landmark trial in which he was accused of raping her. This was the couple’s fourth separation since they were married in November of 1976. John Rideout was overheard saying “it’s the last straw”. This was the first such trial in which a husband was accused of raping a wife while they were still living together.
And that’s a small portion of what went on for this March 9th in 1979, as presented by The CBS World News Roundup and CBS Radio Hourly News.
