Word: hafez
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Damascus' imposition of the cease-fire on Lebanon was a personal triumph for Syrian President Hafez Assad. He can now legitimately pose as the protector of the Lebanese Moslems and claim to have prevented an Arab state from destroying itself in a civil war. Moreover, he has acquired some measure of authority over the 400,000 Palestinians living in Lebanon. By using the P.L.A. to stop the fighting, Assad avoided direct Syrian military intervention in Lebanon, which might have triggered an invasion by Israeli troops...
Stung Again. The possibility of all-out war stirred fears throughout the Arab world. Egypt's Anwar Sadat, Tunisia's Habib Bourguiba and Iraq's Ahmed Hassan Bakr telephoned Hassan and Algerian President Houari Boumedienne to urge a ceasefire. Syria's Hafez Assad dispatched Vice Premier Mohammed Haidar and Chief of Staff General Hikmat Chehabi to Algiers and Rabat to try to defuse what Damascus radio called "the explosive situation...
...other Western nations are participating somewhat reluctantly in the debate. It was literally forced on them by the Syrians. Last November President Hafez Assad refused to extend the mandate of the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force on the Golan Heights unless the Council scheduled a review of the Middle East situation and allowed the P.L.O. to take part. The presence of the P.L.O. prompted an Israeli boycott of the Council session; Premier Yitzhak Rabin's Cabinet unanimously resolved "not to conduct negotiations with terrorist organizations in any forum." A high Israeli official agreed that even "mentioning Palestinians makes them...
...that any extension of the U.N. force should be tied to a Security Council decision on rights for the Palestinians and to a peace treaty, within six months, calling for Israeli withdrawal from all territory occupied during the Six-Day War of 1967. In fact, last week Syrian President Hafez Assad suggested that the Security Council rather than Geneva should be the forum for future negotiations...
Interviewing President Hafez Assad in Damascus last week, TIME Beirut Bureau Chief Karsten Prager and Correspondent William Marmon asked the question on everyone's mind - would Syria renew the Golan Heights mandate? "No decision, no decision," answered a grinning Assad in English. Prager and Marmon found Assad visibly delighted by the suspense he had created over the situation. Otherwise, though, the Syrian President was thoughtful and straightforward as he sketched his views on the prospects for a Middle East peace settlement. Excerpts from the 2½-hour conversation...