Word: assad
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Unwilling to bargain, unable to use force, the U.S. turned to indirect diplomacy. Late in the first day of the crisis Reagan secretly cabled Syrian President Hafez Assad and asked him to use his influence to free the hostages or at least keep them alive. Though the Damascus regime has harbored Shi'ite extremists in terrorist camps in Baalbek, a city in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, Assad is known to want to contain Shi'ite terror, as he takes his turn at trying to pacify Lebanon. His response to the U.S. request, according to Administration aides, was "positive." Assad...
...shooting at each other after a group of Amal militiamen tried to stop a car loaded with Druze. Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt agreed to a cease-fire but later, when asked how long it would last, replied, "Only God and Syria know." Given all these circumstances, Syrian President Hafez Assad was content to let the rival factions in Lebanon fight on for a while before he risks his own troops to try to restore order...
...Iranian officials -- indicate that Khomeini's regime may be in close touch with the terrorists, if not managing them. The camps enjoy at least the tacit support of Syria as well, since the Bekaa Valley is controlled by Damascus. In a remarkably candid speech last week, Syrian President Hafez Assad conceded that Syria was in contact with extremist groups who are holding seven Americans, four Frenchmen and one Briton, seized over the past 18 months. Assad mildly rebuked the kidnapers for violating a "code of honor between combatants," but praised them for "steadfastness...
...midweek, whether by accident or design, two rockets of unknown origin struck the presidential palace in Baabda, setting part of the building afire. Lebanese President Amin Gemayel emerged unhurt and soon afterward flew to Damascus for talks with Syrian President Hafez Assad. At Gemayel's urging, Assad agreed to try to stop the fighting in Beirut by sending Syrian troops back to those parts of Lebanon from which they were removed during the Israeli invasion...
...most important ingredient for peace in the Middle East, Carter suggests, is a generation of political leaders, both in the region and among their superpower allies, having the courage and vision of Sadat. In his interviews with such figures as Arafat and Syrian President Hafez Assad, neither known for his dedication to the peace process, Carter tries to give the impression that the current crop of Middle Eastern leaders have more than a slight interest in working to end the socio-political conflicts. Assad, for interested in my efforts to arrange peace negotiation," an appraisal which might surprise those...