Steady Course

SECRETARY OF STATE Alexander M. Haig Jr.'s recent behavior is indeed reprehensible, his military power grabbing sensibility frightful.

But we do not agree with the majority when it asserts that President Reagan should at once begin searching for a new secretary of state. Given the fragile state of European peace with Soviet troops poised on Poland's borders, it is more than ever necessary to have good relations with our Western European allies. General Haig, for all his shortcomings, is supported by Western European diplomats and politicians.

Further, being so callous as to conduct a search for Haig's successor at this time could only undermine U.S. interests, prestige, and ability to take action in response to something like a Soviet incursion into Poland.

While we, too, spank Haig for his indiscretions--and feel that, if he again steps out of line, he should be called to task--it is necessary, for now, to have a coherent rather than chaotic foreign policy.