Europeans must be "totally confused" as to thestatus of American foreign policy in dealing withterrorists, he added.

President Reagan's stature in the Europeancommunity seems to have been damaged by hisapparent lack of control over the situation.

The international scandal "will make what theReagan Administration says to European nationshave a lot less weight," according to AssociateProfessor of History Bradford A. Lee. "This willmake the Europeans jumpier on arms controlissues," he added.

Kennedy School Academic Dean Albert Carnesale,an expert on arms control, said that the actionsof the American government "will serve toundermine relations with our NATO allies."

Regarding the impact of the crisis on policyin Central America:

Bliss Professor of Latin American History andEconomics John Womack Jr. said the recentrevelations did not come as a shock.

Womack said that "anyone who has seriouslystudied and thought about United States activitiesin Central America in the last six years shouldnot be very surprised by the current, so farlimited, revelations."

"The scandal couldn't happen to a moredeserving crew. For the moment, the strongesttemptation is simply to watch them shooting eachother where they sit," Womack added.

The secret plan to finance the Contras throughthe Iranian arms sales seems to have backfired,leaving the future of U.S. support for the Contrasin jeopardy, professors said.

"The unpredictability of the president willlead to future political problems in obtaining aidto the Contras," said Richard N. Haass, a KennedySchool lecturer who served in the State Departmentduring the first five years of the ReaganAdministration.

Regarding the impact of the crisis onrelations with the Soviet Union:

The Soviets will likely be "sitting back andwatching" as the crisis unfolds, Carnesale said.Carnesale suggested that Soviet leader MikhailGorbachev may look for "an arms control deal thePresident cannot refuse," given his weakenedpolitical position.

And on the home front:

Observers of the domestic situation said thatReagan has indeed sustained heavy damage to hisprestige.

"Reagan's last real hold over Congress was hisstanding with the public. Now that has beenthreatened, I can't see anything that will allowhim to resume control," said Government instructorMark A. Peterson.