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Among those who seemed to feel the White House had praised the Israeli action too lavishly was Secretary of State George Shultz. As luck would have it, Shultz was in New York that day to have lunch with the foreign ministers of six gulf states, and the ministers treated the Secretary to a volley of angry protest. One warned him that "no Arab state can now consider itself safe from Israel," while another noted acidly that Tunisia had been the first Arab country ever to call for peace with Israel. Shultz pointed out that Israel had been increasingly concerned about a general upsurge in terrorism over the past several months, but then added, in an attempt at evenhandedness, "We have to be clear in our minds that we will do everything we can to prevent violence from stopping efforts toward peace."
Shultz called the White House to protest the tenor of some of Speakes' comments. Next day, the White House backtracked a bit by saying that while the Israeli raid may have been "understandable as an expression of self- defense," it could not be "condoned." President Reagan belatedly sent his "condolences" to Bourguiba. Other officials acknowledged that the U.S. had played an important part in persuading the Tunisian leader to give the P.L.O. a place of refuge after it was driven out of Beirut by the Israelis in 1982.
Last week's raid could have myriad consequences. For one thing, it put Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi on notice that his country is not beyond the reach of Israeli air power. More important, however, may be the adverse effect on possible Middle East talks between Jordan and Israel. It will hurt King Hussein, particularly among moderate Arabs whose support he has been seeking. In visits to Washington and New York last week, Hussein went a long way toward meeting U.S. demands that he make clear his willingness to negotiate directly with Israel. Arafat, who last week vowed vengeance for the raid, is less likely than ever to recognize Israel, a step that both the U.S. and Israel have long regarded as a prerequisite for future negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres insisted that the raid had been a response to a recent increase in P.L.O. terrorism. Said he: "It was an act of self-defense. Period." The Yom Kippur murders at Larnaca had shocked Israelis and intensified the pressure on Peres to take decisive action. But ! in the Arab world last week, the view was that Israel's real aim had been to torpedo the peace process.
That belief was shared by at least one West European leader, Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi, who declared in an interview with TIME Managing Editor Ray Cave, "This act of Israel's was either a tragic error or a deliberate maneuver to strike at the evolution of the (peace process)." Craxi said that the Israelis themselves had told him that Arafat was risking his life by talking peace. Thus, the Prime Minister continued, "the Israelis could not have failed to calculate that this action would liquidate the Jordanian- Palestinian peace initiative." He said he hoped the P.L.O. would not return to a policy of terrorism. "But let's face it," he added. "The moderate Palestinians stretched out their hand and had a bomb placed in it."