European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 16, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes . Rosenthal sanctions should be used against terrorism name popular front for the liberation of Palestine general command pulp go Date formed 1968 estimated membership 500 Headquarters Syria area of operations Middle East especially Leb anon Jordan and Israel leadership Ahmed Jabril other names none sponsors Syria Libya that is an entry in a United states government publication profiling All known terrorist groups. The report is dated november 1988. On dec. 21, 1988, a pan am plane in route from London to new York exploded. All 259 people on Board were blown up most of them americans. Eleven people living in the town below Lockerbie Scotland also died. Now american intelligence believes the evidence shows that the Jabril group destroyed pan am flight103. The pulp go has sophisticated technology Money and expertise and a Long record of terrorism in the air. But United states intelligence is not Basing its belief about the guilt of the Jabril group Only on the record. It is going on information gathered from the wreckage and elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East. The conclusion is not final nor May a finding Ever be possible that could stand up in a court of Law. But unless some other group suddenly confesses convincingly american intelligence specialists Are unlikely to change their belief that the Jabril gang carried out mass murder in the sky Over Britain. They also believe Iran helped the terrorists plan and execute the opera Tion. Assuming no contrary evidence shows up in the next few weeks one of president Bush s most important decisions will be what to do about the Jabril group and its sponsor nations. Libya in effect is already an enemy nation. Iran contemptuously dismisses american fantasies about finding reasonable lovable ayatollahs. But the United states still Hopes that somehow it can use president Assad the syrian dictator to further its interests a dream he encourages and which surely amuses him hugely. Jabril is a former syrian army officer intimately tied to syrian intelligence and dependent on syrian arms funds and Safe Haven. That Means Assad knew of every major terrorist operation before or when twas carried out. In Damascus soviet officers work within the syrian intelligence network. Natural enough Moscow is the ally and supplier of weapons to Syria. For decades the soviet Union and Eastern euro Pean nations have provided training Camps and Wear Jim Fain on for a variety of liberation forces relying on terrorism. Now consider this passage from the United state publication on terrorists if we find states supplying Money weapons train ing identification documents travel or Safe Haven for terrorists we will respond. Our  is to demonstrate to these countries that supporting terrorism is not  George Bush wrote that As vice president and chief of the american task Force against terrorism. It is no True now nor was it when written. The United states has known All along about Safe havens in Syria Libya Iraq and Iran and Camps in the soviet Union. Aside from bombing Tripoli in 1986, the United states never put a Price tag on them. But now Bush himself carries the responsibility of trying to protect american lives at least on american planes. To do his duty he will have to face Mikhail Gorba Chev and ask him to join the United states in action against terrorism. If the soviet Leader refuses Ameri cans should know about it quickly. Bush can use the Only weapon the United states has Short of War economic Power to embargo All Commerce and air traffic with the sponsor nations. That will not Hurt them much unless our allies join us. They will not like it there s Good business in the Middle East. But is the Western Alliance so worthless to them that our major partners will continue to value Trade Over the lives of americans the principal foreign target of the terrorists if so the United states should do it alone until our allies join us in economic warfare against the protectors of terrorism. American businessmen and tourists could Speed the Day by finding other places to visit than countries that turn their Back. These Are difficult Steps. But they Are not nearly As painful As being blown to pieces on the next american plane to go Down nor As sorrowful As seeing the mighty United states pretend it is helpless to Stop killers like Ahmed Jabril and their patrons. New York times no one really believes annual budget estimates Tesque deceit in estimating $100 billion if you take out the Trust Tion. This in11vn.tTT at i i i. ,._,. Grotesque in estimating Federal budgets has become so routine it s scarcely noted much less challenged. The numbers president Bush gave Congress were preposterous on their face As were the ones president Reagan sent up earlier. They were based on assumptions no one including their authors believed. Yet after some posturing they or others equally silly will be accepted by Congress. As far As budget hypocrisy is concerned we have a truly bipartisan policy one that amounts to a conspiracy be tween White House and Capitol Hill to institutionalize lying. As a result deficits routinely exceed estimates by $50 billion far More if you exclude the surpluses piling up in social Security and other Trust funds. The administration currently Esti mates this year s deficit at $161.5 billion. It will be More than that and you add $10 fund Cushion. Yet when the budget went to Congress the White House put the deficit at $129.5 billion conveniently below the Gramm Rudman target of$136 billion. The actual deficit will overshoot Gramm Rudman by Many billions As it has every year except 1987, when reve Nues were swollen by capital gains cashed before the tax break was abolished. That year when it became evident future targets could not be met the administration and Congress hurriedly raised them else we d be even farther behind. The original goal for the budget Bush submitted was $36 billion not $100 billion. Among the More flagrant distortions the Bush budget used to meet the revised target a miraculous surge in . Productivity giving us faster economic growth with lower interest rates and less inflation. This Jolly outcome is about As Likely probably reach $ 150 billion not the As your Chance of hitting a $ 10 million $94.8 billion in the Bush estimate de spite the $70 billion surplus that will be no i son a -1 o a._4_. . A i n & a a a ticket. Ajcuc Pic a a Diurio Inai win us a Revenue Windfall of $4 billion by paid in social Security taxes and the $40 lowering the capital gains tax a mar billion or so surplus in other Trust funds. Velous example of drinking oneself nevertheless except for the capital Gainsberg fantasy Congress will buy most of the 9 Low Balling the Cost of bailing out assumptions because it wants to avoid rings and Loans and using a non trea Gramm Rudman cuts just As desperately. I a ,. As does Bush. Meantime by voting for whoever promises a free lunch we close our eyes to fiscal policies that mortgage our future and dissipate our economic strength. If Congress won t bite the Bullet and it won t it might at least adopt the us Tuv Vasai i uni Lull us saving non trea sury bonding mechanism to stretch out the direct costs thereby snowballing in Terest. The True Tab to the taxpayer a least $120 billion. By dead panning such assumptions the president was Able to squeeze out a Tew millions to begin funding some of his Kinder gentler promises on child care education environment and Aid to the homeless. If he wants to carry through with these they will Cost More in 1991 when the Gramm Rudman bogey unless it s revised again will be $64 billion. And the actual deficit in 1990 will and. _ technique of malicious obedience Auu give the president precisely what he asks. That would t solve any problems but would fix responsibility for the budget hoax and provide a basis for restoring some honesty Down the Road. Cox news service