Word: syrians
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...question is how long Lebanon's new overlord, Syria, will remain patient. Syrian President Hafez Assad has shown little interest in direct intervention in Lebanese politics. But Karami seemed to suggest that the Syrians might start exerting more pressure to break the deadlock...
...outskirts of Beirut. Their destination: the ancient ruins of Byblos, about twelve miles to the north, where they ostensibly planned to sightsee and picnic. Inexplicably, however, they drove past their destination along the coastal road. They crossed Christian Phalange and Lebanese Army checkpoints without incident, then suddenly spotted a Syrian checkpoint straight ahead. Realizing that they had strayed into hostile territory, they turned the car around and tried to flee. Syrian soldiers opened fire on the retreating auto and gave chase. By the time a special commando team from Israel had been sent to the scene in an effort...
...Both Syrian and Israeli authorities lost no time in offering their explanations for the curious, combustible incident. As Damascus told it, the radios and cameras indicated that the three Israelis were spies, not tourists; they were mounting a deliberate attempt to infiltrate Syrian lines; moreover, the Israelis were armed and had started shooting first. Israel adamantly claimed that the captives were nothing more than irresponsible civilians. "The Israeli version seems more plausible," said a Western diplomat in Beirut. "But the men were stupid to be in the area, and Jerusalem will be asking some pretty tough questions of those...
...Israelis could retaliate by seizing a high-level Syrian official. But such a move, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens admitted, "would increase the chance for an armed clash with Syria." Other options could prove no less incendiary. "The situation is fluid and dangerous enough for the Syrians to play games," said a top-ranking Israeli defense official in Tel Aviv. "It might be a game they will regret ever playing...
Meanwhile, a tug of war was developing over Lebanon's new Cabinet. Rashid Karami, 62, had been appointed Prime Minister two weeks ago and asked to form his tenth Cabinet since 1955. It was hoped that Karami, a pro-Syrian Sunni Muslim, would find that a new 26-member Cabinet would be large enough to accommodate all of Lebanon's myriad sectarian interests and make a political reality of the dramatic realignment in the country's balance of military power brought about when Shi'ite militiamen seized control of West Beirut in February...