October 14, 1981

''I can make a good case either way, but once a President makes a commitment it's important that it be fulfilled.'' - Former President Jimmy Carter, on Awacs sale. (A27:2.)

Despite the growing concern of Government officials that sophisticated American technology and arms are being illegally shipped to unfriendly nations, including the Soviet Union, the Federal agencies charged with administering the export control laws remain understaffed and their enforcement efforts are spotty. According to Reagan Administration officials, the Government makes relatively few inspections of outbound shipments, prosecutions are rare, penalties are comparatively light and there is a backlog of unfinished investigations. The problem of controlling illegal exports has been underscored recently by reports of the activities of Edwin P. Wilson and Frank E. Terpil. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Terpil, former agents of the Central Intelligence Agency, were indicted last year on charges of illegally exporting explosives to Libya and are under investigation for other suspected violations of the export laws. Problem for Several Decades Officials in the Commerce Department and the Customs Services said that the problem dated back several decades. But they said it had become more severe because of transfers of ''critical'' technology that could be used to improve the military abilities of unfriendly nations.

An extensive 10-year restoration of Central Park will be announced today and will include the refurbishing of Bethesda Terrace, the formal center of the park and a symbol of its disrepair. The master plan for the restoration, which may cost as much as $100 million, is the most comprehensive in the park's 108-year history. The Parks Department will also announce that it is undertaking a $427,000 yearlong study of virtually every aspect of the park in connection with the master plan. The master plan will include the first review of the park's topography in almost 50 years; an inventory and condition survey of all the park's architectural features; an analysis of drainage, circulation and electrical lines as well as a survey of benches, signs, statuary, fountains, playground equipment and park use.

The third-quarter earnings of the International Business Machines Corporation tumbled 21.6 percent, the company reported yesterday. Analysts said that the decline was worse than had been expected and made it likely that 1981 would be the second year in the last three in which I.B.M.'s earnings have declined from the year before. The world's largest computer company reported a third-quarter net income of $693 million, or $1.18 a share, down from $884 million, or 1.51 a share, in the similar period last year. Revenues rose 3.7 percent, to $6.72 billion, from $6.48 billion in the third quarter of 1980.

Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel has reportedly expressed readiness to accept the principles for Palestinian self-rule proposed a year ago by the Carter Administration. According to members of the American delegation at the funeral of Anwar el-Sadat, Mr. Begin made the comment to at least two people on Saturday in Cairo. In one conversation, he was said to have exclaimed that the Israelis ''would make Linowitz famous'' next week by announcing acceptance of proposals made by Sol M. Linowitz, President Carter's special envoy to the Middle East. New Talks Scheduled for Tel Aviv On Oct. 21, in Tel Aviv, the Israelis are scheduled to open a new round of talks with Egypt and the United States on Palestinian selfrule in the West Bank and Gaza.