Terrorism Meeting Canceled by U.S. : 3 Allies Refuse to Attend, Apparently Fearing for Safety of Lebanon Hostages

The Reagan Administration canceled plans for an international meeting to consider strategy against terrorism Thursday after Britain, France and West Germany refused to attend, apparently out of concern that the session would provoke kidnapers in Lebanon to harm their hostages.

At the same time, the Pentagon announced a partial reduction of its naval armada off the Lebanese coast in what appeared to be an effort to ease fears of a U.S. military response to the hostage crisis.

Taken together, the steps deflated a U.S. effort to put psychological pressure on shadowy Lebanese groups holding at least 25 foreigners, including eight Americans. The Administration pulled back because the prospect of U.S. military action seemed to frighten the nation’s European allies more than the terrorists.

Was Scheduled for Rome

State Department spokesman Charles Redman said that Washington had proposed a meeting of anti-terrorism officials of the seven major industrial nations that participate in the annual economic summit conference to plan new action against terrorism. The session had been scheduled for this weekend in Rome, but Redman said it was canceled because of the opposition by some of the nations.

Redman said that the United States and Italy were prepared to attend. He declined to say which nations were opposed, but Britain, France and West Germany have said that they were reluctant to attend. The other two summit nations, Japan and Canada, have not indicated how they stand on the meeting.

“France, like certain of its partners, felt such a meeting raised concerns as to its objectives, as well as its timeliness,” said a spokesman for France’s Ministry of External Relations, according to a United Press International dispatch from Paris. The spokesman said that France was concerned that the meeting would make it appear that the seven summit nations were acting “as the world’s gendarmes, especially in the current context.”

European sources said that Britain, France and West Germany, all of which have nationals among the hostages in Lebanon, were worried that the kidnapers might react by harming the hostages. For the same reason, these sources said, the Europeans also opposed the U.S. naval buildup in the eastern Mediterranean.

Destroyer to Return

Pentagon spokesman Robert B. Sims said the U.S. force in the Mediterranean will be reduced by at least four combat ships and a supply ship, although he denied that the reduction was a result of European jitters. He said a destroyer and three frigates attached to the battle group of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy would return to the United States.

Sims added that the Kennedy would begin a port call in Haifa, Israel, today. The carrier had been scheduled to return to the United States last week after completing a standard six-month deployment, but those orders were canceled after the recent new wave of hostage-taking in Lebanon. Sims would not say how much longer the carrier and its remaining escorts--two cruisers, two destroyers and one frigate--would remain in the Mediterranean.

“Our forces are there as a precautionary measure, as I have said before,” Sims told a Pentagon briefing. “The forces would remain in a high state of readiness because of high tensions in the area.”

Meanwhile, Pentagon sources said one of two Marine amphibious groups now in the Mediterranean probably will be allowed to return home within a few days. Each of the groups is carrying 1,900 Marines.

The reductions reversed a buildup that had increased the number of U.S. combat ships in the Mediterranean from the normal deployment of 25 to at least 35.

Syria and Iran have charged that the ship movements were a prelude to U.S. military action.

Britain, France and West Germany were understood to have been concerned that, if the United States took military action shortly after they had attended an anti-terrorism strategy meeting, the hostage abductors might take retribution against the nationals of those three countries, as well as the Americans.

Not on the Agenda

Redman, however, insisted that the possibility of military action would not have been on the agenda of the Rome meeting.

“Given the recent spate of hostage-takings, we thought it would be a good idea to have a meeting to discuss the situation and means of dealing with it,” he said, excluding the military issue.

“We continue to believe that cooperation and consultation among the world’s democracies is the most effective method of suppressing terrorism and hostage-taking, so that even though this particular meeting is not going to occur, at least in this time frame, we still think that there’s a lot to be done, and we fully expect to continue to cooperate with our allies in various ways.”

Redman said he did not believe that cancellation of the meeting would embolden terrorists in Lebanon. “I think those people are aware that, whether or not this particular meeting occurs, there continues to be very close cooperation between us,” he said.

Times staff writer Gaylord Shaw contributed to this story.