This Day In 1970's History: Sunday November 16, 1980
- Iraq said more than 500 Iranians died in a major battle for the southwest Iranian town of Susangird in the oil-producing province of Khuzistan, while the Iraqis continued the assault on Abadan. The official Kuwaiti press service said several Iranian jets attacked a Kuwaiti area bordering Iraq with rockets, but were driven off by ground fire.
An appeal for national unity in Iran was made by Ayatollah Khomeini. Over the Teheran radio, he rebuked newspapers and politicians for creating a climate of dissent while the country was at war with Iraq. He did not mention the 52 American hostages held by the Iranians. In an earlier broadcast, the radio quoted the speaker of Parliament, Hashemi Rafsanjani, as saying that Parliament was "too busy" to discuss the hostage issue further. [New York Times]
- After meeting his economic advisers, President-elect Ronald Reagan vowed to do "what I said throughout the campaign that I was going to do." He did not address the specifics, but he described a report by his economic policy coordinating committee as "plans for implementation, reducing the cost of government, reducing the tax burden on the American people." [New York Times]
- Brush fires in southern California destroyed at least 90 homes and forced thousands of people to flee. Made worse by high winds, flames spread across 25,000 acres in five communities near Los Angeles, and the efforts of 2,000 firefighters had little effect. [New York Times]
- A $2 billion synthetic fuels plant, the first such large-scale plant in the nation and a major step toward lessening the nation's dependence on foreign oil, is being built in North Dakota. Construction follows a decade of planning and negotiations, and financial problems still beset the project. [New York Times]
- Water shortages in scattered places in the East are believed to be attributable to the cloud-catching effect of Appalachian mountain ridges. Meteorologists say that because of the vagaries of the high-altitude jet streams aloft, rains fell mainly west of the Appalachians last summer. While the resulting water shortages are isolated, some communities from Brockton, Mass., to Norfolk, Va., are rationing water, and others are considering restrictions. [New York Times]
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