Word: syrian
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Syrian turnaround became clear with the release of the summit's final communique, in which the assembled sheiks, princes and Presidents unanimously condemned Iran, which Syria has backed in the seven-year Iran-Iraq war. The members of the Arab League, the declaration says, "voiced their indignation at the Iranian regime's intransigence, provocations and threats to the Arab gulf states" and "denounced the bloody, criminal acts" of the Iranians who rioted last summer in the holy city of Mecca...
According to sources at the Amman summit, the Syrian-Iraqi reconciliation implied by the condemnation of Iran will take concrete form in the next two weeks. Diplomatic relations will be restored, common borders will be reopened, and a dialogue between the governments will begin. For the moment, however, ! Syria is not severing its alliance with Iran. Foreign Minister Farouk Shara'a said, after the summit ended, that "Syria is against condemning Iran because it wasn't the beginner...
...gunmen on a motorcycle. One of them fired three pistol shots through a window of the car, wounding Sabra in the face and neck. The would-be assassins escaped, and their identities are unknown. But in the days after the assault on Sabra, who is a strong supporter of Syrian influence in his country, three other prominent Lebanese allied with Damascus were the objects of bombing or shooting attacks...
Last week Iran's Parliament Speaker Hashemi Rafsanjani seemingly acknowledged the importance of the Syrian pressure. In an interview on NBC's Today, Rafsanjani suggested an exchange of foreign hostages held in Lebanon for Shi'ite Muslims imprisoned in Kuwait and Israel. Such deals have previously been turned down by Kuwait, Israel and, indeed, the U.S. But the Rafsanjani offer clearly implied a desire among some factions in Iran to improve Tehran's ties with the outside world and soothe Syrian irritation over the hostage taking in Lebanon...
From the beginning, friction arose between King's ISA and Longhofer's operations units. In 1981 they cooperated with the CIA on a mission to slip Christian Leader Bashir Gemayel back into Lebanon after a secret visit to the U.S., foiling a suspected Syrian plot to kill him. Gemayel made it (though he was assassinated one year later). But while the Seaspray-ISA team was in Egypt coordinating the mission with the Israelis, a special operations officer spotted an ISA man taping their discussions, on King's orders. "Young man," the officer reportedly thundered, "this is a CIA mission. Either...