Major, NEWSWEEK has learned. Adams, who heads Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA. is also secretly a member of the IRA’s ruling Army Council and one of the strategic commanders of its terrorist campaign, U.S. sources say. Because of his terrorist ties, Adams has long been on the U.S. list of individuals legally banned from the country.
Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Attorney General Janet Reno both opposed waiving the ban for Adams. In opposing it, they reflected the views of the FBI, CIA and U.S. counter-terrorism officials, administration sources say. Christopher was so concerned that he spoke directly to Clinton. Reno was especially irritated, the sources say, when reporters called justice asking for comment on her decision -before the White House told her of Clinton’s conclusion.
Top U.S. intelligence officials worry that permitting a figure declared a terrorist by the State Department to enter the United States could undermine U.S. credibility in fighting international terrorism. At the least, said a senior counter-terrorism official, the president should have required from Adams the same public disavowal of violence that earlier administrations demanded of PLO leader Yasir Arafat.
