(5 of 6)
Uneasy Count. It was the face-saving opening the negotiators wanted. Yes, that might be possible if he agreed to free the hostages. He was willing. The ambassadors' work was done. Said Secretary of State Cyrus Vance later: "To these three ambassadors—humanitarians and diplomats in the highest sense—we offer the gratitude of the U.S."
The police took over to negotiate the details of the surrender and make arrests. Eight of the Hanafis were jailed on multiple charges and held on $50,000 to $75,000 bail; but the three who took over the Islamic Center, where no one was injured and no shot was fired, were charged and then freed under Washington's unusually liberal bail procedures. As part of the agreement with the negotiators, Khaalis was freed without bail on his own recognizance after being charged with only a single count of kidnaping (additional charges are expected to be lodged). Superior Court Judge Harold Greene was uneasy about the deal that had been made. "The court is not in a position to second-guess the Government authorities," he said. "So it will go along."
Many others were indignant that the leader of the bloody assault should be permitted to go free, however temporarily. Complained Senator Lloyd Bentsen, a Texas Democrat, "Khaalis was at liberty even before his hostages were home." A D.C. superior court judge called the releases "outrageous." But to many police and Justice Department officials, it seemed an appropriate price to pay to save the lives of the hostages.
Pealing Bells. Kahlis, a cigar in his mouth, two U.S. marshals at his side, was soon headed for his armed-camp home where his plot had been conceived. Until his preliminary hearing, he is confined to Washington. To reporters gathering beyond the fence, he said he felt "very good."
The victims of Khaalis did not feel quite so well as they emerged from the B'nai B'rith Building with cuts, bruises, shattered glasses and swollen eyes. They were greeted by the pealing of bells in a nearby church where many of their relatives had kept vigil. For these hostages, the ordeal had ended (see box).
Who will be the next to suffer, and how can these acts be stopped? The latest incidents have ended relatively successfully. Terrorists have not achieved their goals and most have been arrested, though many are free on bail. Yet the acts continue. Many law-enforcement authorities argue that because of civil-liberties protests there is too little surveillance of potentially dangerous groups. In reaction to such pressures, Washington police files on the Hanafis were destroyed in 1974, and police informants were withdrawn from the group. It is possible that with proper intelligence the police would have been tipped off to the Washington assault.
Beyond that, terrorists sometimes benefit from a peculiar sanction. If they justify kidnaping or murder in the name of social justice, there is a chance that they will be excused, or at least create confusion. Says David Rapoport, professor of political science at U.C.L.A.: "This country allows acts under the guise of politics and morality that it wouldn't otherwise accept."