Thatcher Defends Policy in Stormy Parliament Session

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher faced heavy criticism Wednesday in a six-hour emergency debate in Parliament, but she staunchly defended her decision to assist the United States in its attack on Libya.

“Terrorism thrives on appeasement,” she told the House of Commons, which was crowded for one of the most intense foreign affairs debates since the Falkland Islands War four years ago.

“The time had come for action,” she said. “The United States took it. Their decision was justified. As friends and allies, we support them.”

When the debate ended, Commons voted 325 to 206 to support the prime minister’s decision, although some members of her Conservative Party voted with the opposition.

Little Popular Support

In sharp contrast to the United States, where there has been widespread public support for President Reagan’s decision to attack the Libyan cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, there has been little popular support here for Thatcher’s willingness to permit the U.S. Air Force’s F-111 fighter-bombers to mount their attack from British bases.

A Harris/Independent Television News poll showed Wednesday that a majority of those responding to the poll expressed the belief that there was proof of Libyan government involvement in recent terrorist attacks and planned attacks. But less than a third approved of the U.S. attack, and 68% said they were against Thatcher’s decision to permit British-based U.S. aircraft to take part in the raid. Three other polls produced similar results.

A few dozen demonstrators gathered Wednesday near the prime minister’s office at 10 Downing St. and at the U.S. Embassy. Many carried signs condemning the attack.

18 Aircraft Used

Eighteen of the estimated 150 U.S. Air Force F-111s based in Britain as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense force were used in the raid on Tripoli. Under a 35-year-old Anglo-American agreement, British approval was required.

In her opening statement to Parliament, Thatcher expressed regret for civilian casualties in the raid but said the use of the F-111s from Britain, rather than less accurate, less sophisticated aircraft from carriers of the U.S. 6th Fleet, had prevented further bloodshed.

“Had we refused permission for the use of those aircraft, the United States operation would still have taken place, but more lives would probably have been lost, both on the ground and in the air,” she said.

A String of Plots

Thatcher outlined the Libyan connection in a string of terrorist plots, including the April 5 bombing of a West Berlin discotheque frequented by U.S. servicemen; the plans for a bomb attack on people waiting in line for visas at the U.S. Embassy in Paris; an attack April 6 on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut that failed when a rocket exploded prematurely, and plans to attack U.S. facilities “in no less than 10 countries” in Africa.

“It is clear that Libya is planning more attacks,” she said.

In the course of the debate, two former prime ministers, Conservative Edward Heath and James Callaghan of the Labor Party, criticized her decision, arguing that it is wrong to believe that terrorism can be bombed out of existence.

Against British Interests

Heath said he had refused an American request to use British bases as part of an aerial resupply of Israeli forces in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. He said it would have been against British interests to do so.

Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock accused Thatcher of being a compliant U.S. ally.

“You were wrong to give in to United States pressure,” he said. “You have not acted in the interests of Britain.”

Wednesday’s debate unfolded amid growing unease here that events have suddenly drawn Britain into the front lines of the war against terrorism. Residents in villages near bases where U.S. aircraft are stationed expressed concern that they could become targets for Libyan terrorists.

There was also nervousness about potential danger to Britons traveling abroad. Prominent news coverage was given to the stabbing of a British tourist in Marrakech, Morocco.