Arab Nations Criticize U.S. Move

Arab nations sharply criticized the U.S. downing of two Libyan fighters over the Mediterranean on Wednesday, warning that the incident will set back promising trends in the Middle East peace process.

Among U.S. allies, Britain reacted cautiously, while other Western European nations expressed concern that the incident would escalate tension in the region. Israel supported the action and offered its congratulations.

Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasser Arafat, in an interview from Cairo, told Cable News Network that the incident “is very serious; it will affect negatively the Middle East peace process.”

A statement issued in Beirut by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist faction within the PLO, said the attack “knocks down the illusion some people had that the American Administration can support a just solution to the Palestinian cause.”

Chedli Klibi, the general secretary of the 22-nation Arab League, demanded that the United States end acts of “provocation near the Libyan coasts.” Speaking from Tunisia, he said the attack constitutes an “extremely serious aggression” dictated by a “false perception by the United States of its role in regulating international problems.” He said any escalation would have “negative consequences” on relations between America and the Arab world.

The Foreign Ministry of Iran, a non-Arab Islamic nation, called the U.S. action a violation of Libya’s sovereignty and said the attack would have “dangerous consequences.”

Iraq “strongly denounced” the U.S. action, and Algeria said the move “reflected the unacceptable decision by the United States to resort to force against Libya.”

In Beirut, a Muslim Lebanese militia official, who requested anonymity, warned that the development would reflect “negatively” on the fate of 16 foreign hostages, including nine Americans, held in Lebanon. He did not elaborate.

In Jerusalem, Finance Minister Shimon Peres offered congratulations to the U.S. Navy. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s spokesman, Avi Pazner, said: “Based on previous Libyan behavior, we have no reason to doubt the official American explanation of this incident.”

In London, a leading British conservative said Libya may have “paid the price” for its aggressive stance toward the United States.

Michael Mates, chairman of the parliamentary committee on defense and a member of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s governing Conservative Party, told the British Broadcasting Corp.: “If the Libyans have made an offensive gesture toward the United States, I’m not surprised they’ve been shot down, because they’re not a friendly nation; they have committed many aggressive acts against the United States.”

British lawmaker Gerald Kaufman, the opposition Labor Party’s spokesman on foreign affairs, told BBC Television, “The Americans ought to show the utmost caution, and they really will need to justify this activity if they’re going to get any support or even understanding from our country.”

Greece said such incidents “create conditions for further escalations” and cautioned against “dangerous and chain reactions” in the region.

French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas said his country “hopes that tension in the Mediterranean does not increase” as a result of Wednesday’s incident.

Dumas added that he hopes the incident will not dominate a conference in France this weekend on the subject of banning the use of chemical weapons.