REAGAN WILLING TO STRIKE IRAN OR SYRIA IF ROLE IN TERRORIST ACTS PROVED

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000505380036-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 12, 2010
• Sequence Number: 36
• Publication Date: April 24, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/12 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000505380036-3
EARED
A~ ? WASHINGTON POST
24 April 1986
Reagan Willing to Strike
Iran or Syria if Role
In Terrorist Acts Proved
Rfzrning to Qzd&fz
Also Is Renewed
By Lou Cannon
Washington Pou Staff Writer
President Reagan said yesterday
he would use military force against
Iran or Syria if presented with clear
evidence that one of those govern-
ments had sponsored an act of ter-
rorism against Americans.
"State-supported terrorism is a
form of warfare, and you just can't
sit by and let somebody else declare
war on you and pretend that you're
still at peace," Reagan told a group
of columnists and commentators in
the White House family theater
when asked whether he was willing
to use force against Iran or Syria if
they sponsored terrorist incidents.
The president said that in many
instances it was difficult to obtain
the "irrefutable evidence" he said
the United States had before its
April 14 bombing raid on Libya. But
he added that when such evidence
exists, "eve must have the same pol-
icy" in dealing with state-supported
terrorism.
Reagan was then asked whether
this meant using force against Da-
mascus or Tehran. He replied,
"Yes, if we had that kind of evi-
dence."
The president's comments came
an hour after he issued a sweeping
call for political and economic free-
dom throughout the world in a
speech to an international forum of
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
He combined this message with a
stern warning to Libyan leader
Muammar Qaddafi that the United
States is ready to strike again if
Libya sponsors further acts of ter-
rorism. Reagan and other U.S. of-
ficials have said that the April 14
attack was based on evidence of
Libyan responsibility for the bomb-
ing of a West Berlin night club in
which a U.S. soldier and a Turkish
woman were killed and more than
200 persons injured.
"By nature, we prefer to solve
problems peacefully," Reagan said.
"But as we proved last week, no one
can kill! Americans and brag al
it. No one. We bear the peopl
Libya no ill will, but if their gov L
meat continues its campaign of ter-
ror against Americans, we will act
again."
In his meeting with the colum-
nists, Reagan said he had been "en-
couraged" by recent allied reactions
to terrorism "in spite of the fact
that they didn't come as far as we
would like."
Citing the expulsions of Libyan
diplomats and students Euro-
pean nations and raisin t the shar-
ing o intelligence information, Rea-
gan said that 'progress" was being
ma a in allied cooperation.
Reagan's speech to the chamber
previewed themes he intends to
emphasize during a 12-day trip in
which he will meet representatives
of six Southeast Asian countries in
Indonesia and leaders of six indus-
trialized democracies at the 12th
Economic Summit in Tokvo. The
president said that when he leaves
Washington on Friday, Air Force
One will be propelled on its
23,000-mile trip by "the winds of
freedom," a phrase he used eight
times during his address.
Echoing the major theme of his
speech to the U.N. General Assem-
bly last October, Reagan said that
democracy was on the march
throughout the world. He also re-
affirmed U.S. support for "freedom
fighters" in Nicaragua, Angola, Af-
ghanistan and Cambodia.
His audience listened attentively
to Reagan's message that "freedom
and economic advance go hand in
hand" but interrupted with applause
only when he said he was ready to
repeat the raid on Libya if further
incidents of terrorism are traced to
Qaddafi.
For the first time, the president
also appealed publicly to Arab na-
tions to join the United States in
opposing Qaddafi.
"Arab nations themselves have
been forced to endure terrorist at-
tacks from this minority," Reagan
said. "We hope and pray the Arab
world will join with us to eliminate
this scourge on civilization."
The president said it was "hyp-
ocritical" for Qaddafi to expect "un-
questioned support from the Islamic
world" in view of his alliance with
the Soviet Union.
e..........eo*, ......e.....,..... ...-. - - --
Qaddafi allies himself with those
perpetrating this crime on Islam
and all mankind."
In an interview with foreign jour-
nalists released yesterday by the
White House, the president said he
would sound out allies about a pro-
posed $20 billion to $30 billion de-
velopment plan for the Middle East,
a region he called "the touchpoint
that could set off world conflicts."
The idea was suggested on a re-
cent visit to Washington by Israeli
Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who
called it a "Marshall Plan" based on
the U.S. reconstruction effort in
Europe after World War II. Reagan
did not use this term in giving qual-
ified support to the idea.
In the interview, Reagan down-
played differences with allies over
the Libyan raid, saying that when
the allies discuss terrorism "we
probably will find, in Tokyo, that we
all are in more agreement than
some of the impressions that have
been given."
Throughout the day the presi-
dent outlined U.S. objectives at the
Economic Summit, stressing com-
mitment to open markets and fair
trade and pointing out that the
strong dollar, which had been "a
legitimate concern" to European
countries and Japan, was now de-
clining. He also said he would not
surrender to domestic demands for
protectionism.
"Now is not the time to surrender
to trade-killing protectionism," Rea-
gan told the chamber. "The trade
imbalance should be solved through
multilateral negotiations that open
markets, not unilateral legislation
that closes them. The right answer
is not decreasing imports, but in-
creasing our exports."
Staff researcher James Schwartz
contributed to this report
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/12 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000505380036-3