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Dirty Action. Whatever faction of Black September or other Palestinian extremist group had committed the atrocities at Rome and Athens, it could hardly have anticipated the wave of shock and anger that erupted from Arab capitals. Even leaders of the major Palestinian commando organizations chimed in; one branded the killings a "dirty action." Many leaders were distressed that the attack damaged the image of the Arabs at a time when their cause was gaining international sympathy. As Cairo's influential Al-Ahram noted, it was difficult "to imagine any benefit from an operation that makes the people of Europe feel that they, not the Israeli aggressor, have to bear the consequences of injustices suffered by the Palestinians."
In the past Kuwait, like other Arab states, has been reluctant to punish Palestinian guerrillas. This time Kuwait may find it impolitic to be so generous.
When the Moroccan government, which lost four high officials in the Rome massacre, asked the Kuwaitis to treat the prisoners "without pity or mercy," the Kuwait government promised to inflict "severe punishment." By week's end it announced that it might be willing to turn the murderers over to the Palestine Liberation Organization for "trial" —thereby letting Kuwait off the hook.
But if the angry mood of moderate guerrillas was any indication, the terrorists may be in for more than they expected from their fellow commandos.