June 8, 1982 – CBS World News Roundup + Hourly News – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
June 8, 1982 – Busy news day in 1982. President Reagan addresses Parliament during this second trip to the UK. With Cold War issues, and Britain in the midst of the Falkland Islands dispute – the Poland crisis, a challenge to Soviet Premier Brezhnev and an invitation to Brezhnev to address the American people. It was the first time a U.S. President ever addressed to both houses of the British Parliament. And even though there were many who disagreed with Reagan, saying his address sounded like an echo of the Eisenhower period, even down to using the phrase “Crusade for Freedom” as well as his now-famous “leaving Marxism and Leninism on the ash heap of history”, he struck a number of responsive chords, particularly with Margaret Thatcher. The next stop of this tour would be Bonn, West Germany and to West Berlin.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops entered Lebanon, pressing their targets against Palestinian rebels taking up refuge Southern Lebanon. During the day, two more Syrian jet fighters were shot down by Israeli Interceptors in the Galilee area of Northern Israel. It brought a total of four Syrian jets brought down by Israel since the conflict began three days earlier. It raised concerns that Syrian ground forces might now be committed to repel the swift Israeli thrust. It also marked the first time Syrian jets were able to penetrate Israeli air defenses. Israeli troops and tanks continued their push northward, meeting stiff resistance from Palestinian troops but taking the Lebanese town of Tyre and further north, Sidon was surrounded by Israelis while troops closed in on another PLO stronghold ten miles south of Beirut.
And Harvard University Commencement exercises took on a shade of green this day. Kermit The Frog addressed the graduates, choosing for his theme what students could expect once they leave campus. No honorary degree, but Kermit did get a Harvard T-shirt.
All that, and so much more for this June 8, 1982 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup.
