Caspar W. Weinberger (1917–1990) was an American politician and businessman who served as the Secretary of Defense under President [[Ronald Reagan]] from 1981 to 1987. He was a key figure in the Reagan administration's military buildup during the [[Cold War]][^1]. [[William Richard Higgins]], a Marine Lieutenant Colonel who was abducted in [[Lebanon]] in 1988, had served as a military aide to Weinberger from June 1985 until he went to Lebanon in June 1987. Higgins's in-depth knowledge of classified military matters, gained during his time with Weinberger, made him a high-value hostage[^1]. ### Footnotes [^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.