MIDDLE EAST: Sink the QE 2

It sounded like a farfetched sequel to The Poseidon Adventure: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat asserted last week that Britain's newest and most luxurious passenger liner, the" Queen Elizabeth 2, was nearly torpedoed by an Egyptian submarine as the liner plowed through the Mediterranean with 590 Jewish passengers going to Israel's 25th anniversary celebrations in April 1973. Only his own intervention, Sadat said during an interview telecast over the BBC in London, aborted the attack.

Sadat said that "one of the Arab leaders"—by general agreement among Middle East specialists that could be Sadat's acerbic critic, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya—"had the idea...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!