Reagan Cites ‘Terrorist Nations’ for ‘War Acts’ : Points to Iran, Libya, North Korea, Nicaragua and Cuba, Says U.S. ‘Has Right to Defend Itself’

President Reagan charged Monday that five “terrorist nations”--Iran, Libya, North Korea, Cuba and Nicaragua--”are now engaged in acts of war” against the United States, and he declared that America “has the right to defend itself.”

But, in a speech to a convention of the American Bar Assn., Reagan pointedly stopped short of discussing any possible military action against terrorist nations, saying that his sole purpose was to “state the facts about the nature of international terrorism and affirm America’s will to resist it.”

‘Misfits, Looney Tunes’

In strong language delivered almost in a monotone, the President vowed that “the American people are not--I repeat, not--going to tolerate intimidation, terror and outright acts of war against this nation and its people. And we are especially not going to tolerate these attacks from outlaw states run by the strangest collection of misfits, Looney Tunes and squalid criminals since the advent of the Third Reich.”

The several thousand ABA delegates laughed and then applauded the President’s “Looney Tunes” line. And they gave him a standing ovation when he declared that U.S. citizens are united on the issue of terrorism, while adding: “We are Americans. We love this country. We love what she stands for, and we will always defend her.”

But, by omitting mention of any possible U.S. military action, Reagan highlighted the dilemma and frustration that he and all Americans face in attempting to identify terrorists and defend against them.

In his most comprehensive, toughly worded statement on terrorism since radical Shia Muslims hijacked a TWA airliner June 14, killing one U.S. Navy petty officer and holding 39 Americans hostage for 16 days, Reagan again called for the closing of Beirut International Airport. He said 15% of all the world’s hijackings since 1970 have passed through that airport, where the TWA plane was forced to land.

Shortly after Reagan spoke, the State Department issued a new appeal to allied governments to join the United States in restricting flights to and from Beirut. But spokesman Edward P. Djerejian acknowledged that no other country has followed the Administration’s initiative. Reagan, on his own, last week banned air traffic between the United States and Beirut.

In his speech, Reagan also noted that Vice President George Bush returned from Europe last week “after intense consultations with our allies on practical steps to combat terrorism.” The President and Bush discussed those consultations Monday and talked about an Administration task force that Bush will head in an effort to draft a U.S. plan for combatting terrorism.

But Reagan emphasized to the bar group that terrorism can best be fought by the united efforts of all civilized nations. “We must act against the criminal menace of terrorism with the full weight of the law--both domestic and international,” he said.

‘Cruel and Deadly Skills’

He added: “We can act together as free peoples who wish not to see our citizens kidnaped or shot or blown out of the skies--just as we acted together to rid the seas of piracy at the turn of the last century. . . . There can be no place on Earth left where it is safe for those monsters to rest, or train, or practice their cruel and deadly skills. We must act together, or unilaterally if necessary, to ensure that terrorists have no sanctuary--anywhere.”

The President seemed to be hinting that he might authorize military strikes against terrorist training camps. Sources told The Times last week that senior Administration officials were discussing possible attacks on at least one terrorist training site in Libya and on a barracks in Baalbek, Lebanon, where Shia extremists and Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been housed.

Citing examples, Reagan said that “Iran, Libya, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua . . . are arming, training and supporting attacks against this nation. And that is why we can be clear on one point: These terrorist states are now engaged in acts of war against the government and people of the United States. And under international law, any state which is the victim of acts of war has the right to defend itself.”

‘A New Murder, Inc.’

He asserted: “The growth in terrorism in recent years results from the increasing involvement of these states in terrorism in every region of the world. This is a terrorism that is part of a pattern--the work of a confederation of terrorist states . . . a new, international version of Murder, Inc.

“And all of these states are united by one simple, criminal phenomenon--their fanatical hatred of the United States, our people, our way of life, our international stature. And the strategic purpose behind the terrorism sponsored by these outlaw states is clear: to disorient the United States, to disrupt or alter our foreign policy, to sow discord between ourselves and our allies, to frighten friendly Third World nations working with us for peaceful settlements of regional conflicts and, finally, to remove American influence . . . in short, to cause us to retreat, retrench, to become ‘fortress America.’ Yes, their real goal is to expel America from the world.”

Protest From Nicaragua

Nicaragua’s embassy in Washington later protested Reagan’s inclusion of the Managua regime on his list of “terrorist states” and in turn accused the Administration of promoting terrorism by supporting the anti-government Nicaraguan rebels known as contras .

Conspicuous by its absence from Reagan’s list was Syria, which is still officially cited by the State Department as a nation that supports terrorism. Administration officials later inferred that Reagan did not mention the Damascus regime because he is hopeful that President Hafez Assad will be instrumental in attaining the release of seven kidnaped Americans presumably still being held in Lebanon.

The State Department list also includes South Yemen but does not include North Korea or Nicaragua. State Department spokesman Djerejian said Reagan’s list was “not all-inclusive.”