Washington Report, August 11, 1986, Page 15

Words To Remember

Dan Fisher:

" . . . Prime Minister Shimon Peres indirectly confirmed [June 30] in a speech to the Knesset ... that the 1984 killings were no isolated incident. Peres, who was defending his government against five motions of no confidence brought in connection with the Shin Bet affair, said he had originally opposed an investigation into the scandal because Shin Bet officials accused of ordering the handcuffed prisoners beaten to death and then covering up their action would argue that 'this was not the first time."' (The Los Angeles Times, July 2, 1986)

Moshe Arens, former Israeli Minister of Defense:

"Every terrorist who undertakes an operation inside Israel should know that he is not going to come out of it alive." (Quoted in The Los Angeles Times, July 2, 1986)

Avraham Shalom, Shin Beth director:

"My actions were carried out on authority and with permission so as to maintain the security of the state and to prevent disclosure of its most guarded secrets." (The London Times, July 2, 1986)

Tel Aviv Attorney Azriel Barak:

"I'm glad that they (the four Palestinians) have been killed. They came with one intent—to kill as many Jews as possible. That's the only way to fight them (terrorists)—to kill them the minute you see one. (Quoted in The Los Angeles Times, July 21, 1986)

Geula Cohen, Member of the Israeli Knesset:

"We are killing them (PLO members) all over the world, and I hope we do more of it." (Quoted in The Washington Post, June 26, 1986)

Chaim Zadok, former Israeli Justice Minister:

"For the Shin Bet, the lesson to be learned is that you can commit serious crimes. For the political echelon, the lesson is you can do anything you please and will not bear responsibility." (Quoted in Time magazine, July 7, 1986)

Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir:

"I have personally nothing whatsoever to do with this affair. All that those hounding me are seeking is to scuttle the rotation accord.... if I am made to speak out there will be many surprises." (Quoted in The Wall Street Journal, July 3, 1986)

The Economist:

"Three months after the bombing of Libya, the temptation is growing to call it a success. Was it? A breakdown of terror-related deaths and incidents shows a steady hum of terrorist activity .... In 1985, about a third of the 28 Americans killed by terrorists lost their lives in Middle East-related incidents. This year the numbers could be much the same .... There have been some 18 anti-American terrorist incidents in Western Europe and the Middle East in the three months since the Libyan raid, compared with about 15 during the 3 and 1/2 months before it .... The Middle East is not, anyway, the worst part of the world for Americans. The number of Latin American-related acts of terrorism in which Americans have been killed over the past five years is, on average, 40 percent higher than the number of Middle East-related acts. In 1985 there were some 86 terrorist acts in Latin America involving United States citizens, compared with 16 similar incidents in the Middle East," (Issue of week ended August 1, 1986)

G. Jefferson Price III:

"The sound of U.S. jets screaming low over Tripoli on April 15 . . . was a dreadfully reminiscent spectacle for ... those who had witnessed the Israeli bombing of Beirut 46 months before .... The consequences of this development are dangerous and farreaching. In the long run, the Arab perception of the United States as an aggressor ... undermines the U.S. assertion that its policy in the Middle East is 'even-handed.' Moreover, many observers feel that the United States now ... (is) morally powerless to criticize Israel for any military action (Israel) undertakes in the name of fighting terrorism. The historic U.S. desire to play a role as an impartial broker between the Arabs and the Israelis has been subordinated . . . ." (The Baltimore Sun, May 4, 1986)

Ramsey Clark:

"Reagan's raid, called a surgical strike, killed at least twice as many Libyans in one night as all Americans killed by terrorists worldwide in 1985." (The Nation, July 5, 1986)

Charles William Maynes:

"If terrorism in the Middle East is to recede—it will never disappear there or elsewhere—the Palestinians must either be destroyed as a people or provided with a homeland. That is the reality. The first solution is beyond Israel's power and unacceptable to world opinion and most Jews. So the second solution must be found, however painful the process for all sides. The Reagan Administration can redeem a five-year record of sterility in the Middle East by seizing the moment of opportunity .... What better time to move than now?" (The Los Angeles Times, May 4, 1986)

U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz:

"The idea that (the Achille Lauro hijackers) were freedom fighters is a bunch of baloney .... You can throw that in the junk pail."' (Talk to journalists quoted in The Washington Post, July 10, 1986)

Mary McGrory:

"Secretary of State George Shultz lectured the press the other day about its attitude towards terrorism. The secretary calls them 'beasts.' That's fair. The secretary has no trouble fingering hijackers, bombers, kidnappers, torturers and killers. But when governments do the moral equivalent of those reprehensible acts, he does not condemn them, unless, of course they are Libyan or Nicaraguan . . . It is hard to think of two places where terrorism is more entrenched as official policy than South Africa and Chile .... Before he (Shultz) lectures the press ... about the need for closing ranks against terrorists, he might tell us there are two kinds and that being an anti-communist government really means never being called 'a beast,' no matter how bestial the conduct." (The Washington Post, July 13, 1986)

Abba Eban, Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee chairman:

"When a Government institution has a complaint against us, rather than starting a media campaign, the matter should be brought up in direct discussion between the two Governments. I have the impression that several factors within the United States are uncomfortable with the nature of U.S.-Israeli relations." (Quoted in The New York Times, July 10, 1986)

Samuel Lewis, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel:

"What happened here, I suspect, is that the Pollard case suddenly made it kosher for the law enforcement agencies to come out of the woodwork and begin pursuing some of the cases that they felt politically constrained not to pursue before." (Quoted in the Washington Jewish Week, issue of week ended July 17, 1986)

Stephen Engelberg:

" . . . Former Justice Department officials say they know of previous instances in which cases of Israeli spying in the United States were handled without criminal proceedings. But Mr. Pollard's behavior immediately before his arrest—a dash into the Israeli Embassy with F.B.I. agents trailing him—made it impossible to dispose of the incident quietly." (The New York Times, July 11, 1986)