Philip Habib, the veteran of diplomatic wars from Lebanon to the Philippines, was back in President Reagan's service last week, this time as special envoy to Central America. There had been speculation that the purpose of his trip was to discuss President Reagan's plans for stepped-up support for the Nicaraguan contras. Habib insisted that his talks with the leaders of El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Costa Rica were "exploratory."
He did, however, declare that the U.S. wholeheartedly backed President José Napoleón Duarte's recent offer to meet with Salvadoran rebels if the Sandinista government in...