Terrorism 1 More, World 0

All of the elaborate diplomatic maneuvering that led to the release of the American hostages in Lebanon and all of the background rhetoric that accompanied it cannot obscure the fact that, weighed in the balance of political gain and loss, the terrorists won.

They won because, whatever denials may be issued, a clear connection has been established between freedom for the Americans and the release by Israel of more than 700 Lebanese detainees. They won because they succeeded in securing worldwide publicity for their cause and elevating the prestige of that cause in Lebanon itself. And they won because they were able to elicit 13 days ago from an American President given to tough talk and easy threats the acknowledgement that this country rightly feels morally inhibited in using force to punish terrorism, if innocent persons among whom the terrorists hide would be endangered in the process.

All this adds up to a considerable and virtually cost-free victory for terrorism. The radical Shia Muslim group that carried out the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and Nabih Berri’s Amal group, which became a sort of accomplice after the fact, may contend over which deserves the greater credit for securing the release of the Lebanese held in Israel, men who in any case were destined soon to be set free. The point is that both can claim they got what they wanted through a deal that, however humanitarian its results, seems effectively to constitute a payoff to terrorism. Meanwhile Syria, known and officially designated by the United States as a sponsor of international terrorism, is able to posture somewhat bizarrely as the liberating agent for the victims of terrorism, gaining in political influence in the process.

From the beginning of this affair one truth has stood out above all others: The surest and least painful response to terrorism still lies in limiting the opportunities terrorists now have to strike. The ordeal of TWA Flight 847 has been another reminder that lax security in international air travel only invites the most terrifying and costly consequences. Perhaps now, at long last, the world will, firmly and uniformly, do what must be done.