Reagan Reportedly Planned Retaliation on Salvador Rebels

President Reagan ordered the Pentagon to draw up plans for an air strike on Salvadoran rebel bases in retaliation for the slaying of four Marines in San Salvador but was dissuaded from ordering an attack, Newsweek magazine says.

The magazine, in its current edition, said that the military drew up the plans for retaliation against forces presumed responsible for the June 19 killings, but that Reagan was persuaded at a National Security Council meeting Tuesday not to order the attack.

In Washington, White House spokesman Dale Petrosky declined to comment on the story.

The magazine, which identified no sources for its report, said military officials pointed out that an attack would result in the deaths of women and children.