Word: assad
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...deal was based on a simultaneous withdrawal of Syrian and Palestine Liberation Organization forces. When U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz flew to the Syrian capital of Damascus, capping two weeks of shuttle diplomacy that had brought about the Israeli-Lebanese accord, he learned that Syrian President Hafez Assad had a long list of objections...
Lebanese Foreign Minister Elie Salem heard about those objections firsthand when he flew to Damascus late last week, hoping at the very least to talk the Syrians into holding discussions on the subject. He got nowhere. On his return to Beirut, Salem declared gloomily, "We know that President Assad will not accept the agreement." Undeterred, the Lebanese government unanimously approved the accord with Israel the next...
Although the U.S. appears to have little chance of bringing about a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon any time soon, it will press ahead in its dealings with Syria, hoping to find out precisely what Assad's price is. At the same time, the Reagan Administration is trying to persuade moderate Arabs to lend a hand. Shultz stopped over in Saudi Arabia to confer with King Fahd, but the Saudis emerged later with a rather grumpy pronouncement that they would not serve as anyone's "tool." Translation: With their characteristic caution, which often borders on gutlessness...
...question, as Washington steps up its contacts with Syria, is just what the U.S. can offer Assad as an effective inducement. As long as Israel's artillery is within 14 miles of Damascus, an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon should be the primary incentive. A longer-range Syrian goal is recovery of the Golan Heights. Shultz said last week that he was not "applying" for the job of negotiator between Syria and Lebanon. But once the perimeters of the problem have been established, probably under the guidance of Special Envoy Philip Habib, Shultz may have to embark on another exercise...
...resupplying Syria with large quantities of highly sophisticated weapons. The Soviet aim has been not merely to replace equipment lost when Syria tried to blunt Israel's invasion of Lebanon last June, but to increase Soviet influence in the region by offering the regime of Syrian President Hafez Assad more and better materiel than he had before. Moscow, moreover, has added a new dimension to its involvement in Syria by installing SA-5 missile bases that have to be manned by Soviet troops and technicians. Says a West European diplomat in Damascus: "For the first time, the Soviets have...