Word: bekaa
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...have left Iraq without the means or gumption to continue sponsoring terrorists. Since the gulf war, Syrian President Hafez Assad has taken care not to antagonize the U.S. He has expelled some foreign terrorists from Syrian-controlled Lebanon and has reportedly told others that they can stay in the Bekaa Valley only on condition that they do not venture forth to hit Western targets...
Meanwhile Picco embarked on his secret mission. On several occasions he traveled with Syrian secret police to the border with Lebanon, where he was met by intermediaries waiting in a black Mercedes. Then he was driven -- alone, with his head covered by a cloth bag -- into the Bekaa Valley, in the eastern portion of Lebanon. Some of his meetings with Shi'ite operatives were held in the village of Nabisheet, where he may have spoken to some of the hostages. When asked about that possibility, Picco crisply responds, "Next question...
...will be ticklish, in part because the abductors are afraid they will be liquidated by vengeful Western governments or abandoned by their former Iranian patrons. That fear could delay Perez de Cuellar's dream of bringing the entire hostage saga to a close -- and send Picco back into the Bekaa Valley...
Similar objections apply to bombing a Lebanese town or a training camp in the Bekaa Valley. Israel does it, of course, but Israel is at war with Lebanon. It would be diplomatically and domestically impolitic for Washington if its bombs landed on anyone but active terrorists. And bombing targets in Iran or Syria would have horrified most Arabs and soured U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and Egypt...
Residents admit that the Iranians did many good things for the city. The Khomeini Hospital, still under Iranian direction, provides the best medical care in the Bekaa at half the cost of other hospitals. The Path to Faith discount supermarket is open to all. The Iranians dug wells, installed electric generators and even built a fishery...