Word: syrians
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...Soviet Union, to block the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon. After five months of negotiations, the U.S. had finally extracted an agreement from Israel and Lebanon for a removal of Israel's 30,000 troops in Lebanon. But the deal was based on a simultaneous withdrawal of Syrian and Palestine Liberation Organization forces. When U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz flew to the Syrian capital of Damascus, capping two weeks of shuttle diplomacy that had brought about the Israeli-Lebanese accord, he learned that Syrian President Hafez Assad had a long list of objections...
...Syrians appeared to have embarked on a dangerous game. In the past two months, they have sent an additional 10,000 troops into the Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon, increasing their strength to nearly 50,000. At the same time, P.L.O. commandos have slipped back into northern Lebanon, swelling their ranks from 8,000 to at least 10,000. Among them: P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, who in his first trip back to Lebanon since his forced departure from Beirut last summer reportedly spent a day visiting guerrilla units in the Bekaa Valley. The Syrian war machine, shattered by Israel during...
...acknowledged the increase in Syrian and P.L.O. troop strength in Lebanon. Said Shultz after his return to Washington: "First of all, it is a violation of the agreement under which the P.L.O. evacuated Beirut. Second, it is an unwelcome development. We want them to be moving out, not in." In the meantime, the State Department issued a list of statements in which Syria had promised to get out of Lebanon as soon as the Israelis did. On Feb. 14, for example, Syrian Foreign Minister Abdel Halim Khaddam told his French counterpart, Claude Cheysson, that "Syria would withdraw its forces from...
Shultz may yet turn into a realist; persuading Syria to go along with the accord will be a formidable task. When Lebanese Foreign Minister Salem flew to Damascus to brief Assad on the progress of the talks, Syrian officials raised so many objections that Salem became convinced that no agreement could possibly satisfy Syria...
Although Moscow is clearly using its Syrian connection to make a bid for greater influence in the Middle East, its short-term strategy remains murky. The Soviets may urge Syria to keep its forces in Lebanon, thus depriving the Reagan Administration of a diplomatic victory and keeping tensions in the area high. Moscow may also be betting that its buildup will deter the Israelis from attacking Syrian troops in the Bekaa Valley...