Civil strife in El Salvador and Americas appropriate role in seeking so utions are emerging as the first major foreign policy challenge of the Reagan Administration. Poverty, repression and terrorism plague the tiny Central American nation. rouglhly the size of Massac usetts with an estimated 4.5 million residents. But the crucial underlying issue is the expanding Cuban influence in the Caribbean and Central America. and Soviet influence also. Whereas the Carter Administration mostly ignored the military aspects and- sought to avoid confrontation. the new Reagan regime has charged openly that Cuba and probabl the Soviet Union are supplying weapons to El Salvadoran insurgents. In quick response. the latter is increasing military-economic assistance and the number of U.S. advisers in El Salvador. President Reagan declares. however. he does not foresee sending combat”troops – an eventuality feared by critics who draw, a parallel between El Salvador and U.S. experience in Viet-g nam. “What we are doing is at the request of a government in a neighboring country – offering help against the import into the Western Hemisphere of terrorism and disruption and it isn’t just El Salvador.” , The Christian Democratic civilian military junta headed by President Jose Napoleon Duarte has rejected an offer by the 28-member Organization of American States to mediate a political settlement. with the leftist-dominated El Salvadoran opposition. Durate claimed the other day that , the revolutionaries are facing defeat and that “now we can head on the road to democracy.” Other sources indicate that report might be too optimistic. V President Reagan’s concern for EI Salvador and the entire CaribbeanCentral American sector is well-justified. This is a region within the natural in luence of the United States – in our own backyard. so to.speak. in emerging national debate. several members of Congress have warned that a purely-military solution. including halt of the Communist flow of arms. will not end EI Salvadoran strife permanently. They logically urge accompanying political actions to remove root problems and charge that Durate doesn’t have the confidence of the people. it is also argued that soldiers of the ruling junta are as much or more responsible for “political slayings” as leftist guerrillas. Newsmen. using figures by the Roman Catholic Church which has priests and nuns in the field. estimate such slayings in l980 at l0.000. One apparent need is a coherent. long-range foreign policy for.the entire Latin American region. As Rep. Leon Panetta. D-Calif. commented; “A series of onagain, off-again reactions is no substitute for establishing policies which will have the support of our neighbors and allies…” Britain and other European allies have expressed understanding of Washington’s concern over spread of Communist influence in the Americas. But Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo has been critical of stepped up U.S. aid to EI Salvador – which should signal the need forf rther diplomacy here. Other g ls ought to include po itical dialogue between El Salvador’s warring f ctions. with new mediation efforts; reduction of fndamental inequalities of wealth and human r’ghts; and some type of e panded but controlled e onomic aid involving Wany free world partners. By all means. caution must be exercised not to allow escalation of the regional conflict into an international crisis. Military security rates top priority – but ultimate and lasting solutions must come through social. economic and land reforms that get to the root of EI Salvadorls troubles.