Despite Toll, U.S. Applauds Tough Action on Terrorism

Despite the bloody toll of 60 deaths, Egypt’s timely attack on the hijacked EgyptAir jetliner in Malta was welcomed by U.S. officials Monday as evidence of a new and tougher worldwide attitude toward terrorism.

White House, State Department and Defense Department spokesmen joined in praising the Egyptian action just six weeks after the U.S. government harshly criticized Cairo for failing to detain the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro after negotiations instituted by Cairo ended the crisis with the loss of one life.

Led by Secretary of State George P. Shultz, the United States has been demanding a stern response to terrorism for more than a year. In a speech Oct. 26, 1984, the secretary of state called for the use of military force against terrorists, even if it could result in “the loss of life of some innocent people.”

A State Department official said Monday that nations have become reluctant to give any sort of assistance to hijackers even when innocent lives are put at risk. “There is a hardening of attitudes,” he said.

Yonah Alexander, a specialist in the study of terrorism at Georgetown University’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the Egyptian action was “clearly a step forward in terms of combatting terrorism.” But he said a better-organized assault might have produced fewer casualties among the passengers.

U.S. officials were unwilling, however, even to hint at criticism of Cairo.

“We think that the Egyptian and Maltese governments did what had to be done,” Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger said in an interview with the Reuters news agency.

At the State Department, spokesman Charles Redman said, “The United States fully supports the difficult decisions of the governments of Malta and Egypt.” White House spokesman Larry Speakes made a similar comment.

U.S. officials were especially pleased that Malta, a tiny Mediterranean island nation that for years has engaged in West-bashing rhetoric, cooperated with the Egyptian assault. One official said that Malta may have realized that its reputation was hurting the tourist industry, which supplies a substantial part of its wealth.

Nevertheless, U.S. officials said that Egypt was forced to use military action instead of negotiating because of the especially brutal circumstances of the hijacking. The terrorists systematically killed or wounded several passengers, including three Americans, one of whom was slain.

Talks Become Useless

The officials said negotiations with hijackers are possible even after the murder of one hostage, as happened in the June hijacking of a TWA flight to Beirut or the seizing of the Achille Lauro. But talking becomes impossible if the terrorists continue to harm their hostages, as they did in Malta.

“People were being shot,” a White House official, who declined to be identified by name, said. “Sometimes you just don’t have the luxury of waiting for the next bullet to be fired.”

Pentagon spokesman Robert Sims said the Egyptian action sends a message to terrorists that “no matter how fanatic and willing they are to sacrifice the lives (of hostages), they won’t be allowed to succeed and gain whatever objectives they have.”

He said that the incident should also demonstrate that “terrorists and their tactics present a very difficult problem, which even the best trained counterterrorist forces have difficulty in overcoming, and we should not expect our counterterrorist forces to work miracles.”

Foes of Arafat

The Egyptian government said the hijackers were members of a Palestinian faction opposed to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat with ties to “an Arab state” that encourages terrorism. The government statement did not name the country, but there was no doubt that Libya was intended.

Redman said the United States could not confirm the “affiliation” of the terrorists. But he noted, “Libya has been involved in terrorism against Egypt in recent weeks.”