A Little History

In response to an commenters' question, it seems Bernard Lewis was referring to an event on September 30, 1985, when Sunni militants killed one Soviet diplomat and kidnapped three others. The three were subsequently released.

Time magazine wrote an article after the event, titled "Moscow Loses Its Immunity." It should theoretically be available here, though Time.com seems to be misbehaving. In any event, the headline was proved wrong by history -- the Soviets were gaining immunity.