It is not for us to say how good or bad is President Reagan’s evidence in respect of Libya’s alleged involvement in the recent terrorist acts in Rome and Athens by some Palestinians. It is also not for us to say whether or not he should have secured the concurrence of his allies before he announced sanctions against Libya on Wednesday. But certain points can be made. While Col. Gaddafi is not easy to catalogue, in a manner of speaking he can be called a permanent revolutionary. He is generally opposed to the status quo and he has financed various kinds of movements, including the Muslim secessionist guerrillas in far away Philippines. He has been inconvenient not only to the west generally but also to many others, the rulers in Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, for instance. Incidentally, despite his otherwise friendly ties with India, he has not hesitated to assist Pakistan in its search for a nuclear weapons capability. It is difficult to say whether his actions have justified his notoriety. But the fact remains that he has not been popular with most rulers in the world. On this specific occasion President Reagan and Arafat are on the same side of the fence. This does not quite clinch the issue. For Arafat has as good reasons to detest Col. Gaddafi as President Reagan. For his claim to acknowledging the Palestinian Liberation Organisation as the sole representative of the Palestinian people notwithstanding, the Libyan leader has spared little effort to undermine Arafat’s position. Despite all these reservations, however, it would be unfair to conclude that President Reagan is using the terrorist acts by some Palestinians at the Rome and Athens airports to settle old scores with Col. Gaddafi.
The issues are complicated with the result that one’s judgment is bound to be coloured by one’s basic sympathies. Those who are opposed to terrorist acts such as the ones in Rome and Athens are, therefore, likely to welcome President Reagan’s sanctions and indeed to conclude that these have already paid off in that Col. Gaddafi has offered to cooperate with west European governments in the fight against terrorism and to advise the PLO to confine its fight against Israel to “occupied territories”, that is to old Palestine. While this is a welcome development, it would be premature for opponents of terrorism to feel assured. Col. Gaddafi may not deliver the goods even if just now he is sincere. For one thing, he is guided by several shifting considerations and for another, terrorists can discover other sources of support. And if the United States is isolated, as it looks like, from its own allies and Col. Gaddafi’s popularity rises among the Arab peoples who are deeply hostile to the United States partly on account of its support for Israel, his compulsions to exercise restraint will decrease. In that somewhat long-term sense, President Reagan’s sanction might well turn out to be ineffective.