Lawmakers Vow Probe and Warn of Retaliation : Fear Iranians Will ‘Demand Pound of Flesh’; New Attacks on U.S. Policy in Gulf Expected

Members of Congress on Sunday pledged to conduct a full inquiry into the destruction of an Iranian airliner by U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf and urged the Reagan Administration to brace for a new burst of Iranian terrorism directed at Americans around the world.

“They are going to demand their pound of flesh in return--anywhere in the world, not just in the Persian Gulf,” Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) predicted. “If that had been an American airline, we’d probably be in the process of declaring war on Iran right now.”

The tragedy was certain to revive criticism of U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf, both in Congress and among U.S. allies. The assistant House majority leader, Californian Tony Coelho (D-Merced), said President Reagan should have anticipated such a disaster when he authorized the U.S. Navy to begin escorting reflagged Kuwaiti tankers in the gulf nearly a year ago.

“The Persian Gulf operation lacks definition and reason, and this kind of tragedy is the inevitable result,” Coelho said. “If a retaliatory act of terror is Iran’s response, who will remember this mission to protect commercial shipping or its purpose?”

Both House and Senate members called for immediate hearings--focusing particularly on the question of how the cruiser Vincennes’ sophisticated Aegis missile defense system failed to detect the difference between an F-14 fighter and a large commercial airliner.

“We have been told the Aegis system is the greatest in the world and that this couldn’t happen,” said Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee. “If we’re paying more for an expensive system and getting the same, we ought to know why.”

Pentagon Briefing Due

Senate Armed Services Chairman Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) said the capabilities of the Aegis system would be one of the issues explored by his committee when it receives a briefing from Pentagon officials early this week.

“I believe we should reserve judgment until receiving further information and the answers to such key questions as follows: What was the ongoing operations situation, what intelligence did we have regarding any threats, what were the rules of engagement and the command decision-making chain for this situation, what are the technical capabilities of the Aegis system and how have we previously handled airline traffic in this region?” Nunn said.

Retired Rear Adm. Gene R. La Rocque, director of the Center for Defense Information, which has frequently criticized U.S. policy in the region, said the tragedy points up one of the many technical difficulties the Navy faces in the gulf.

“If we can’t tell our own F-14s from a commercial airliner, we better get the hell out of there until we can,” he said. “Our Navy is designed to fight in blue water, not in a lake. We have put our ships in an untenable situation.”

It is unlikely, however, that the congressional inquiry into the incident will delve into the larger question of whether U.S. forces should remain in the Persian Gulf. Members of Congress generally have been supportive of the policy and have refused on many occasions to invoke the 1973 War Powers Resolution in the region.

Sen. Alan J. Dixon (D-Ill.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he does not expect the downing of the airliner to change the attitude in Congress toward U.S. policy. “I believe we need to stay there, and I believe the majority of the U.S. Senate does believe that,” he said.

War Likely to Escalate

At the same time, members of Congress acknowledged that the incident will likely escalate the war in the gulf at a time when the United States is trying to adopt a lower profile in the region. Like Bumpers, many predicted that the Iranians will retaliate against Americans outside the gulf region.

“Terrorism is a specialty in that region, and retribution--an eye for an eye,” Schroeder noted. “It’s now beyond something we can control.”

On the campaign trail, Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson also warned that the United States should expect the worst. “We hope not,” he said, “but in reality, the only question is what form will it take. What other innocent people have to suffer in this process?”

But neither Jackson nor any other prominent Administration critics condemned the American commander for acting as he did in shooting down the airliner.

“Plainly, our armed forces have a right to defend themselves when attacked,” said Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

On the GOP side, Vice President George Bush, his party’s likely presidential nominee, was consulted by President Reagan in formulating the Administration’s statement on the incident, but he did offer an independent comment.

“It’s a war zone and, in war, that sort of thing is predictable,” Bumpers said. “It shows you that even with all the sophisticated equipment in the world, you can’t stop that kind of thing from happening.”

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who, like Bumpers, has often criticized the Administration’s defense policy, promised to reserve judgment until he attends the Pentagon’s briefing for members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “From what we know now, it seems reasonable to believe that the U.S. Navy acted in an appropriate manner,” he said.

Nunn added: “American military forces must always have the right to defend themselves, and preliminary information indicates that the on-scene commander believed his forces were in imminent danger.”

Possible Suicide Mission

Dixon and Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) said the ship’s commander had reason to fear the plane, even if he knew that it was a commercial airliner. “It’s not inconceivable that such a plane could have been on a suicide attack,” Wilson said.

Although most members of Congress tended to focus on the U.S. role in the incident, Rep. George (Buddy) Darden (D-Ga.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said it could have been foreseen because of Iran’s actions in the gulf.

“I’m not saying the Iranians deserved what they got . . . but the Iranians helped create the climate which led to the destruction of this airliner,” Darden told the Associated Press. Darden replaced Rep. Larry McDonald, a Republican who was killed when Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by the Soviets in September, 1983.

Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, agreed with Darden but also criticized Administration policy.

“Much of the responsibility rests with the government of Iran for its irresponsible conduct during these past years,” Simon said. “But policy errors have led the United States to become more involved in the Persian Gulf than our security needs and the defense of freedom of the seas require.”

Times staff writers Karen Tumulty and Keith Love contributed to this story.