European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 23, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes wednesday july 23,1988 Flora Lewis terrorist attacks bring Dishonour to any cause terrorist attacks have Bro Ken out again in Europe. As Washington notes with a hint of smugness there has t been evidence of Middle East inspired terrorism since the april 15 american raid on Libya but the idea of terror a a political weapon has proven itself alive with a series of new deaths. Basques in Spain left Wing extremists in France West Germany and Portugal Irish nationalists and protestant loyalists in Northern Ireland have All struck. Mean whip two lebanese shiites sentenced to 2j years in prison for attempted murder of a libyan embassy official Nave been released and deposed by Madrid apparently in return Tor Spanish hostages sent Home from Lebanon. France it receiving the syrian vice president. Abdel Halim Haddam in Hopes of speeding the mum of French hostages in Lebanon. A French court in Lyons sentenced George Ibrahim Abdallah alleged chief of i lebanese terrorist croup in Europe to four years on relatively minor charges. He has already been in jail for two years Dur ing which Lime his group staged several attacks to demand his release. He is still to be tried in Paris with complicity in the murder of an american Deputy military attache and an israeli Diplomat in 1982. There have been widespread reports that the Paris court May dismiss the Case for Lack of evidence although the police found the czech made pistol used in both killings in Abdallah t Paris apart ment. The . Government and the american s widow have asked to enter the Case As civilian plaintiffs in an Effort to forestall such a judgment. And the american embassy complained about the Light sentence in Lyons which could Lead to Abdullah s Early release. The complaint provoked a Sharp rebuke from the French foreign ministry for unacceptable interference in French Justice. In the Middle of Alt this. American officials predicted that Middle East terrorists apparently lying Low just now arc Likely 10 twitch tactics and launch Large scale random attacks in european Capi tals to exploit and prolong american fears of foreign travel. The tourist input William Buckley try has been seriously Hurt. This certainly does t look like the great increase in cooperation among governments to Block terrorism which has been claimed. I looks like continuing National narrow mindedness each coun try trying to look out for its own and forget the consequences for others. The anguish of negotiations for the re turn of hostages is understandable. The Pri Mary duty of each stale to protect its Citi Zens is undeniable. Legal systems and court procedures remain a National affair. But it is Clear that despite All the Public posturing there is still really no agreed Western stand on How to Deal with terror ism and whether or not to make conces Sions in an attempt to head it off. The Media have been criticized for helping the terrorists who need publicity to spread their message of menace. 11 is Rue that they succumb not Only in the obligation of reporting the news but in magnifying the sensation. Politicians too Are tempted by the re wards of both talking Tough and trying to deliver hostages. Spectacular measures such As the american raid on Libya did not succeed in demonstrating thai terror ism does t pay. Just thai in is nol a Good idea to boast about it As openly Asli Bya s colonel Qadhafi liked to do. Afler the raid he told an interviewer that he was very surprised because i could not imagine now they could attack ahead of state in his House with his family. It has not happened before in modern Histo  his history is bad Many Heads of stale have been attacked and even lulled but he seems to think attacks should be reserved for those of lesser Slat us. The effective proof that terrorism does t pay b that in has achieved no Modem cause beyond grabbing Public attention and occasionally winning the release of prisoners so they can strike again this fact needs to be proclaimed loud and often. It is a mistake to suggest that the motives of political terrorists should be sympathetically examined. They Are sick minds who Dis Honor any cause. It is also a mistake to be concerned about which terrorists Are which except in terms of catching them. They Are everybody s enemy whomever they hit. Restrictive permissive ways of interpreting treaty reviewing the abm treaty to under International Law there Are two grounds for the United states to end the treaty it engaged in in 1972 in Moscow for swearing anti ballistic missiles. The easiest Way to do it is to consider the treaty As null and void on the grounds thai one of the contract ing parties it in violation of it and that therefore the other parly is relieved of any further obligations. To do this is As easy As opening the lips and pronouncing the word  because there the soviet Union has Bull a phased array radar facility 470 Miles from its nearest Border but oriented toward a Border 2,500 Miles away in Clear violation of the treaty. No responsible official this Side of the Iron curtain would deny thai Krasnoyarsk is such a violation. The second Way to go is almost As easy. In would require merely a Sirok of or. Reagan s pen. Advising the soviet Union that the treaty specified six month countdown has a Cion and that therefore in december he abm ire Aymil cease to bind the United states in any Way. Now nol Only was this an option read into the treaty at the Lime it was signed our representative at the Yoni us ambassador Gerard Smith said thai the mild suites v As going along with the anti ballistic in Mic i i in Pursuit of general disarmament. If  providing for More Complete strategic of fun tic am limitation were not achieved in live years said ambassador Smith Al the direction of Thead Ministri in ", supreme interests could be jeopardized. So m thai occur in would constitute a basis for withdrawal from the abm  Well exactly that did occur. In the interval after Salt i the soviet Union added 8,000 warheads while we subtracted about the same number. The projected Mutual assured vulnerability was in shatters the soviet Union has been busily engaged in defensive activity looking toward Impre inability while we have grown lilies in our old air raid shelters we should have spotted the weakness of the abm treaty in 1977 when the treaty s contractual five years were up but that was a year of Jimmy Carter and we dreamed our Way through the balance of the decade. What came then was the declaration of or Reagan in March of 1983 that we would develop a strategic defense initiative looking to the Day when we could so effectively protect ourselves from soviet missiles As in effect to make it progressively suicidal for the soviet Union to contemplate a first strike. Well could we proceed with the space shield Given the restrictions of the abm treaty on this matter there has been considerable debate. There arc two ways to read the i scaly one is the so called restrictive Way the other the permissive  Are great ironies Here because when we were bargaining with the soviets in 1972 we tried very hard to get them 10 agree to absolute restrictions on anti ballistic missile activity. But the soviet Union declined to adopt such language. What emerged from it was something called  d. Depending on Bow you read in Ana the two clauses in explicates the United states is nol permitted to employ fresh technology to pursue and test ski the restricted ver Signor it is per milled the permissive version. The irony lies in the soviets insistence that the restricted version is the Correct version Given its historical Resis Tance 10 the binding version . Negotiators sought the Legal adviser to the , department of state Abraham softer is a scholar of some renown he waste judge who presided Over the Ubel Suil brought by Ariel Sharon against time Magazine. He testified be fore the subcommittee on arms control International Security and science of the House committee on for eign affairs on oct. 22,1985, and Quile simply demo shed the restrictive interpretation of the Ireacy. How Ever president Reagan had announced that he would. Proceed under the restrictive version presumably jus to be a Good sport. How much did that decision dam age the ski program an expert concedes Well in is Irue that if there had been no abm treaty the Structure of the research program would have been different. He con cedes that flier have been a few workarounds which is to say some zigzagging with the View to abiding scrupulously by the Ireacy. As interpreted restrictively. The question just when might research be practically impeded by the treaty particularly if read restrictively is a subject the defense department does t want to talk about. Because you see the ques Tion is a political one and very very sensitive As we shall see