Word: syrians
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...involvement is likely to be was illustrated by the reaction of the Begin government. The Israelis were caught unaware by Reagan's plan; they had expected the next U.S. move in the Middle East to be a proposal for American-mediated negotiations aimed at withdrawal of Israeli and Syrian troops from Lebanon. Begin was incensed that Reagan's letter, outlining his proposals, was delivered only on Tuesday, a day after it had been transmitted to King Hussein of Jordan, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Arabia's King Fahd. American officials justified this procedure...
...Israelis complained that, in violation of the agreement, the first group of P.L.O. evacuees had been allowed to take their jeeps with them. The Lebanese protested that the Israelis were objecting to the placement of French peace-keeping forces in central Beirut. More serious was the fighting between Syrian and Israeli forces near the Beirut-Damascus highway in central Lebanon. This caused the P.L.O. to postpone a withdrawal over that route...
...Christian forces allow the P.L.O. convoys to pass safely along the highway to Damascus. As a result of the meeting, the overland evacuation of the P.L.O. to Syria began on Friday when a convoy of trucks carrying celebrating guerrillas made the 70-mile trip to the outskirts of the Syrian capital...
Nonetheless, the celebrations continued. When a shipload of guerrillas reached the Syrian port of Tartus, they were greeted by shouts of "Victory!" and "Palestine!" Five sheep were slaughtered on the dock and skinned to provide a carpet for the visitors to walk upon as they came ashore. When a four-year-old Palestinian boy in Beirut asked his father, "Why is everybody shooting?" he was told, "To celebrate a great victory." To which the boy replied, "But if the soldiers won, why are they going?" The answer, only partly obscured by the fanfare of the occasion, was that they...
...that the U.S. would "work closely with the new government in the complex and difficult task ahead." Administration officials see Gemayel's election as the first step toward strengthening the central government in Lebanon and creating a stronger military, essential steps if the withdrawal of both Israeli and Syrian troops is to be negotiated. But there are also skeptics in the Administration who fear that if Gemayel resorts to ruthless tactics he will only further fragment the country. Said a senior official in Washington...