February 22nd in 1984 had a lot to do with uncomfortable situations everywhere. From the Middle East, the attempts at brokering a peace settlement in Lebanon fell on Saudi Arabia and Syria in an attempt to hammer something out in what became known as The Damascus Peace Plan. Unfortunately, it left Lebanon President Amin Gemayal in one of those "damned if you do - damned if you don't" situations. In the meanwhile, U.S. Marines, stationed in Beirut since 1982 were pulling out and turning over responsibilities to a UN Peacekeeping force. Enough of this getting shot at from both sides.
Elsewhere in the Middle East - the Iran-Iraq War was still raging on, with Iran now threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz, effectively cutting off oil shipments. That wasn't going to fly with oil interests at all.
In Europe, an uproar over austerity measures in France, Spain and Italy were causing most services to be shut down over strikes in protest.
Back home - President Reagan was set to go before microphones and cameras with his first Press Conference of 1984. The Press had a lot of questions over our Foreign Policy and that age-old malady, our Economy.
The Supreme Court ruled companies on the verge of bankruptcy could cancel union contracts at the discretion of a Federal Bankruptcy judge. And the Miranda Law did not apply to Probation Officers.
The New Hampshire primaries were set to go in a week with one last debate to go before heading to the polls. Democratic hopefuls Walter Mondale and Gary Hart were in the number one and two spot while John Glenn was seeking a change in his campaign after dropping to fifth in the polls.
And U.S.-Vietnam talks were ready to resume after hitting a few bumpy spots over MIA's, causing the negotiations to be put on hold.
All this and lots more via the CBS World News Roundup and 9:00 am (PST) network news for this Wednesday February 22, 1984.
