Another Casualty

The high probability now is that Marine Lt. Col. William R. Higgins is dead, murdered by the pro-Iranian Lebanese Shiites who kidnaped him nearly 18 months ago as he served with a U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. But just when Higgins apparently was killed is far from certain. His captors claim they hanged him on Monday, after their deadline passed for the return of a Lebanese Shiite clergymen abducted last week by Israel. But there is nothing in the ghastly videotape of Higgins’ body they released to establish when it was made, unlike other photos put out earlier by Lebanese hostage-takers. Ever since last year there have been rumors that Higgins was dead, possibly as a result of torture. His Hezbollah captors may simply have decided that now was an opportune moment to proclaim their brutal and inexcusable crime.

That opportunity was provided by Israel’s abduction of Sheik Abdel Kareem Obeid and two associates from a village in southern Lebanon. Obeid was a spokesman for the radical Hezbollah group. According to some sources, he had a direct hand in Higgins’ kidnaping. Hezbollah is known to hold several captured Israeli soldiers as well as other foreign hostages. On Monday, before Hezbollah announced Higgins’ murder, Israel offered to swap Obeid and the other Lebanese Shiites it holds for all those hostages, including Higgins. In claiming that Higgins is dead, Hezbollah has both scorned that offer and maneuvered to place the political and moral blame for his death on Israel.

The guilt in this matter, of course, lies solely with Hezbollah. The anger that this act provokes in the American public is entirely justified.

For its part, Israel has cited a number of authorities on international law to legitimize its abduction of Obeid. The central issue, however, isn’t whether snatching a known terrorist from his home was legal but whether, in the circumstances, it was prudent. Did the Israeli officials who approved Obeid’s abduction expect that the fanatics of Hezbollah would divest themselves of the hostages they have held for so long in exchange for a relatively minor cleric, who at worst faces a term of confinement in Israel? Did Israel have a contingency plan for what it would do if Hezbollah not only refused to make a deal but threatened to murder other hostages if Obeid weren’t returned?

There is always a case to be made for the political value of demonstrating that terrorists are vulnerable. There is a case of equal importance to be made for carefully weighing the possible consequences of certain anti-terrorist actions. Col. Higgins was seized and, it appears, murdered because he was an American. He would not have been the first American to die at the hands of Lebanese fanatics. There is a real and tragic possibility that he might not be the last, either. The answer lies with the grim illogic of Hezbollah.