Other Nations Unwilling to Shun PLO : Shultz Reports Mixed Progress in Campaign to Isolate Terrorism

Secretary of State George P. Shultz said Wednesday that he has been unable so far to persuade other governments to shun the Palestine Liberation Organization, although he has “made a lot of headway” in convincing the world of the organization’s involvement in terrorism.

Talking to reporters aboard the Air Force jetliner that brought him back to Washington after a six-nation European tour, Shultz said that the U.S. attitude toward the PLO has hardened since the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in October.

“We have seen individuals who have association with the PLO, including (those) on the Executive Committee, associated with hostage-taking and acts of terrorism,” he said. “So you have to put that into the picture.”

He was apparently referring to Abul Abbas, a PLO Executive Committee member accused by the U.S. and Israeli governments of masterminding the Achille Lauro hijacking, in which an American tourist was murdered. Shultz said Tuesday that Abbas had been “welcomed” by Iraq and apparently is still living in that country.

State Department spokesman Charles Redman said Wednesday that the Administration does not have confirmation that Abbas is in Iraq but that Washington has put the Baghdad regime “firmly on notice” that his extradition will be requested if he can be located.

Redman said the Iraqis had responded by arguing that Abbas was not covered by the current U.S.-Iraqi extradition treaty.

California Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) called on the Administration on Wednesday to return Iraq to its list of nations that support terrorism; such nations are normally barred from major purchases of U.S. military equipment. The United States took Iraq off the list in 1982 after the Baghdad regime expelled several known terrorist leaders.

Quote From June Letter

Berman charged that Shultz has failed to keep a promise to restore Iraq to the list. He released a June 20 letter in which Shultz said, “I assure you that, should we conclude that any group based in or supported by Iraq is engaged in terrorist acts, we would promptly return Iraq to the list.”

“Now Shultz himself is confirming that Abbas has been sheltered in Baghdad,” Berman said. “That sounds like support for terrorism to me.” He said he was also sponsoring legislation to strengthen the sanctions against nations on the list.

Shultz said there has been no change in longstanding U.S. conditions for dealing with the PLO. For the last decade, Washington has said it will not engage in any official contacts with that organization until it accepts U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, which acknowledge Israel’s right to exist, and renounces terrorism.

Previously, U.S. officials had given the impression that the United States had taken that position on the PLO as a concession to Israel. Since the Achille Lauro seizure, however, Shultz, at least, has escalated his attacks on the PLO, seldom missing an opportunity to label it as a terrorist organization. Isolation of the PLO has become a primary objective of U.S. diplomacy.

Sharp Attack on PLO

Twice in his just-concluded trip, Shultz sharply attacked the PLO. For instance, at a press conference Tuesday in Belgrade, Shultz said, “It’s not a matter of speculation that they take part (in terrorism); they claim credit for terrorist activities.”

Asked on the return flight if he had succeeded in persuading any of the government leaders he had met to isolate the PLO, Shultz said, “No.”

But, he added, “I think we are making a lot of headway in helping to create a genuine recognition of the seriousness of terrorism and the PLO as a part of that. I think there is more unease (among foreign governments) about PLO involvement in something like the Italian ship hijacking.

“I think over the last year, largely because of these very painful events, we in the United States see the menace of terrorism more clearly, and so support for doing something about it is growing,” Shultz said.

More Relaxed Policy

Earlier this year, the U.S. attitude toward the PLO was much more relaxed, although the stated U.S. policy concerning the organization was no different.

U.S. officials applauded an agreement last February between Jordan’s King Hussein and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat to pursue a joint strategy in the Middle East peace process. President Reagan and other U.S. leaders later hailed a Hussein peace plan as a mark of genuine progress, although the Jordanian monarch never made any secret of his intention to bring the PLO into the peace process.

Shultz said that the United States continues to encourage Hussein’s peace efforts. But he added that U.S. leverage on Hussein was substantially reduced by congressional action blocking, at least until next spring, the Administration’s plan to sell jet warplanes and anti-aircraft missiles to Jordan.

“I feel we would be much better off in terms of U.S. interests if we were able to help King Hussein in his security interest. . . . That’s a setback. It doesn’t help the peace process,” Shultz said.

Progress in Spy Case

On a related subject, Shultz said that the U.S. team headed by State Department legal adviser Abraham Sofaer seems to be making good progress in Israel in its investigation of the Jonathan J. Pollard spy case. The Israeli government has imposed strict secrecy over the activities of the U.S. delegation.

Pollard is a civilian U.S. Navy intelligence analyst accused of spying for Israel. Sofaer and a group of Justice Department and FBI officials went to Jerusalem to question the Israeli diplomats accused of acting as Pollard’s “control.”

“I think we are getting things that we want in terms of the Pollard case,” Shultz said.

When his plane touched down at Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Maryland, Shultz went directly to the White House to report to President Reagan on his trip to Britain, Belgium, West Germany, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia.

Times staff writer Doyle McManus also contributed to this article.