Word: gemayel
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Those words were meant to assuage Lebanese President Amin Gemayel, who on a visit to the White House two weeks ago had expressed the fear that a partial Israeli withdrawal would give the Syrians an excuse to stay in the country indefinitely. In fact, the Israeli promise amounts to little more than words. The U.S. failed to secure a timetable for future withdrawals and did not discuss how Israel planned to patrol southern Lebanon once the redeployment was completed. When Gemayel finished his talks in Washington, according to a top State Department official, the U.S. promised "to do the best...
...Marines who are part of the four-nation peace-keeping force have their headquarters. Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Druze sect, took "full responsibility" for the airport attack. On Saturday he and two other Lebanese opposition leaders announced that they had formed a Syrianbacked "National Salvation Front" to challenge Gemayel's leadership...
...Gemayel stopped in France to confer with King Hussein of Jordan, who was vacationing near Nice. In Washington the Lebanese President warned his hosts that if the U.S. did not persuade both Israel and Syria to withdraw their troops from Lebanon soon, his fragile government could collapse. Gemayel also expressed his opposition to Israel's redeployment plan. Said he: "The partial withdrawal gives the impression, unfortunately, and I can't believe it, that the U.S. effort has failed...
...Israeli decision guaranteed that the main topic of discussion between Gemayel and the U.S. would be the partial military withdrawal. Both Reagan and Gemayel disapproved of the decision, but the U.S. was prepared to go along with it. In a series of meetings that stretched over three days, U.S. officials assured Gemayel that they would stress to the Israelis that any redeployment should be the first stage of a complete pullout. To assuage Gemayel further, the Administration also agreed to transform $150 million in loans to the Lebanese into outright grants. But by the time Reagan met with Gemayel...
...absence of fresh ideas, Reagan opted for fresh faces. With Gemayel standing beside him, the President announced that Special Envoy Philip Habib, who has been the Administration's principal troubleshooter in the Middle East, would be replaced by Robert C. McFarlane, Deputy National Security Adviser. Habib, 63, was described as leaving to pursue "private commitments," but in reality he had outlived his usefulness. The Israelis distrusted him and, more important, the Syrians flatly refused to see him. McFarlane, 46, has little expertise in the region, but the former Marine colonel has won bipartisan praise for his work...