Word: gemayels
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...McFarlane were about to pay off in the form of a ceasefire. By week's end it seemed clear, however, that the mission's chances for success were slim, largely because Syrian President Hafez Assad was determined either to bring down the Lebanese government of President Amin Gemayel or bend it to Syria's will...
...Syrians and the Druze also demanded assurances that the Gemayel government would not use its army in future domestic conflicts, but that request was obviously unreasonable. In refusing it, Gemayel pointed out that any government must put its armed forces wherever they are needed. He might have added that the Lebanese Army has turned out to be more successful as a national institution than anybody had expected, and in fact is just about the only thing that the Gemayel government has going...
...Syrians in the negotiations convinced U.S. diplomats that the Assad government was not interested in a fair compromise. Said a discouraged U.S. diplomat: "The Syrians are making demands designed, in effect, to steal the legitimacy of the Lebanese government." Their real aim, in the U.S. view, is to hasten Gemayel's demise and replace him with a government that Syria can control...
...fall of Bhamdun panicked the Christian political leaders, who demanded that Gemayel do something to stem the tide of Muslim and Druze military power. In response, the Gemayel government asked that French and U.S. planes make a show of force, and so they did. In the meantime, the Lebanese government launched a propaganda campaign asserting that the Druze forces in the mountains were receiving the active military support of both Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organization. There is no question that Syria is providing arms and ammunition to the Druze, in the hope of undermining the Gemayel government...
...Reagan Administration, the strategy remains to support the Gemayel government and urge the young Lebanese President to try harder to broaden his political base. The White House has been reluctant to subject the American military presence in Lebanon to congressional approval, as provided for by the 1973 War Powers Act. But the Administration, worried about the continuing loss of American lives and the inevitable political consequences, now feels that some form of congressional assent might be helpful. For that reason, the White House is considering seeking a joint congressional resolution supporting the role of the Marines in Lebanon. The Administration...