Word: gemayels
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...improving climate comes at an important time. Lebanese President Amin Gemayel is engaged in delicate negotiations with his country's brawling factions over a security pact that would extend his military authority beyond Beirut and strengthen the buffer zones between Christians and the Shi'ite Muslims and Druze. Washington is pushing the plan not only because it will enhance the chances for a lasting cease-fire but because it could provide an opportunity to redeploy the Marines to safer ground. Two of America's partners in the Multi-National Force also were increasingly restive about being pinned...
Washington also is encouraged by the reception given Gemayel's security plan for the one-third of Lebanon not controlled by the Syrians or the Israelis. When the Lebanese President visited the U.S. in December, Administration officials bluntly told him to make peace with his opponents fast, or else wave goodbye to the Marines. "This time it sank in," says a senior U.S. diplomat. "Since then we have kept the blowtorch...
...hitch is that Gemayel wants the Marines to act as a back-up for the Lebanese Army as it expands its area of control. "Are you kidding?" says a top State Department official, reflecting Washington's lack of enthusiasm for the idea. Agrees a White House aide: "One thing we won't do is appear to be marching alongside the Lebanese Army." The Syrians and Israelis apparently do not object to the plan, while two key Lebanese factions, the Christian Phalange and the Shi'ite Muslim group known as Amal, have tentatively pledged their support. But Druze...
...continuing casualties and poor morale among its 28,000 troops in southern Lebanon, Jerusalem is contemplating pulling most of them out without a simultaneous Syrian withdrawal. A hasty exit could bring chaos. Israeli officials, however, insist they would coordinate their move with the Lebanese Army, which would enhance Gemayel's authority...
McFarlane's pep talk temporarily soothed the Republicans, but unless substantial progress is made by Gemayel, White House aides expect Congress to begin an urgent review of U.S. policy in Lebanon as soon as it reconvenes on Jan. 23. Says Democratic Congressman G.V. ("Sonny") Montgomery of Mississippi, an influential hawk: "The way I read it, both sides-Democrats and Republicans-will give the President until the first of March to get something done." If Reagan cannot show results, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee might pass a resolution demanding a Marine pullout by April 1. To get around a possible...