Word: gemayels
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Gemayel spent the week bunkered down in the presidential palace in Baabda, overlooking his anguished city. Once derisively dubbed "the mayor of Beirut," the beleaguered President could not even claim that distinction after the takeover of West Beirut and the disintegration of the Lebanese Army. With shells crashing into the nearby "hillside and occasionally hitting his palace, Gemayel desperately tried to cobble together a new government following the resignation of Prime Minister Chafik al Wazzan and his nine-member Cabinet...
...Gemayel's latest troubles began two weeks ago, when fierce fighting broke out between the Lebanese Army and militiamen in the predominantly Shi'ite suburbs south of the capital. Rumors had circulated that the army was preparing to move into the area to crush the forces of the Shi'ite organization Amal. According to U.S. officials, Army Commander Ibrahim Tannous also wanted to cut off an eleven-mile-long corridor that was being used to ferry weapons from Druze outposts in the Chouf Mountains to the Shi'ite militiamen. Tannous' offensive quickly stalled, however...
...assault infuriated Amal Leader Nabih Berri, who is known as one of Lebanon's more pragmatic opposition figures. For the first time, he joined Druze Chieftain Walid Jumblatt in calling for Gemayel's resignation. More important, he urged three Muslim members of the Cabinet to quit, prompting Wazzan, a Sunni Muslim, to quit as well. Gemayel tried frantically but failed to find a respected Muslim politician to replace Wazzan (according to Lebanese political tradition, the Prime Minister is always a Sunni while the President is a Maronite Christian). Gemayel then appeared on TV, offering an eight-point plan...
...army's performance under pressure was a major disappointment for Gemayel and the U.S. Torn apart by the 1975-76 civil war, the Lebanese Army was virtually nonexistent until 1982. After the Israeli invasion, the U.S. helped Gemayel rebuild a well-integrated force of 32,000, of whom about 60% were Muslim and 40% Christian. Though many Muslim soldiers resented the fact that most of their officers were Christian, the army performed surprisingly well when faced with its first tests. The soldiers cleared the Muslim militias out of West Beirut in late 1982 and succeeded, with the help...
With that victory, however, the army began to crack along sectarian lines. At the urging of Druze Leader Jumblatt, some 800 Druze soldiers deserted. With the defection of thousands of Shi'ites last week, the army was on the verge of collapse. If Gemayel orders his commanders to retake West Beirut, fighting could easily break out among army regulars...