Secretary of State George Shultz charged today that terrorism is emerging “as a kind of weapon of war by states” and identified Iran, Syria, Libya and the Soviet Union as countries that employ it or acquiesce in its use.
Shultz made his remarks in an appearance on the ABC-TV “This Week With David Brinkley” program during which he denounced international terrorism as “an attack on civilization” and “we have to be very concerned about it.” Asked if the U.S. might launch a preemptive strike against possible kamikaze-type attacks on American warships or bases in the Middle East, Shultz replied:
“I think we have to be very conscious of the rise in terrorism, not only in Lebanon but around the world and the fact that it is increasingly evident that it has a base in a state–it isn’t some random crazy group. It is organized, systematic, people get trained for it and in the case of Lebanon, we increasingly see these things originating in Iran.
“We see them taking place necessarily with the acquiescence of Syria. We see who this group is — there’s Syria, Iran, Libya and the Soviet Union.”
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