Spiral of Violence

In the hours after the American bombing of Libya, the evidence has grown that those who planned this extreme action may not have adequately weighed what the results might be or whether it might serve as an incitement, rather than a deterrent, to international terrorism.

The attention of the world is diverted from the issue of terrorism, and all its horror, to the innocent victims of this attack. Reported among the dead was the 15-month-old daughter of Moammar Kadafi, among the wounded two of his young sons.

Reluctant Arabs, including moderates closest to the United States, have closed ranks behind Kadafi when they would have preferred to isolate him, and those in Libya itself who long had worked to overthrow the tyrant find themselves forced into a new unity with him.

The repercussions have disrupted the ultimate priority of American diplomacy--charting the course to another Soviet-American summit meeting. The cancellation of Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze’s summit-planning visit in May could be a serious setback.

All this is part of the price of losing patience. That patience was lost is no surprise. The terror has been bloody; the feeling of impotence, acute. The European allies have equivocated, despite repeated American requests for joint firm action. The question is whether damage control can minimize the negative consequences. The diplomatic and political ingenuity implicit in that challenge is harder to come by than the technology of delivering one-ton smart bombs.

The need now is to focus on finding a way to maintain the global response to terror while minimizing the negative effects of the Libyan bombing.

Whatever the merits of the arguments on either side, there is no doubt that the Libyan affair has strained relations among the allies. Repairing that damage will require initiatives both from Washington, prone to think that it always knows best, and from allies that have preferred to think that the Libyan role in international terrorism would disappear if ignored.

Kadafi’s importance can easily be exaggerated. International terror has many bases, many power centers, many architects, many agents. That is why the experts know that only patient police and intelligence work can provide a defense against terrorists while only political and economic development can choke off the discontent that feeds it.

The strike against Libya raises the specter of a rising spiral of terrorism and violence, strike and counterstrike, with no end in sight.

The United States has been forced to resort to force during its long climb to the status of a great power, but what makes the world look to it for guidance is this country’s steady moral authority. It is that role that Washington must guard most jealously in the difficult days to come.