Basic HTML Version
PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JUNE 11, 1982
PAGE 12
(though the treaty exempts Syrian troops in Lebanon). Mr. Begin discounted
these fears and at the same time added up all the expected advantages.
Reports the FINANCIAL TIMES of London in its June 7, 1982 edition:
The incentives for Israel's action have included the knowledge
that the West is to some extent preoccupied with the Falklands
cr1s1s, the Arab world is in considerable disarray following
recent Iranian successes in the Gulf War, and the fact that Syria
is isolated from its neighbours, Jordan and Iraq, which are un
likely to render any assistance in the event of a war with
Israel.
Jerusalem is also aware that the time is approaching when Wash
ington may begin to take a serious interest in trying to resolve
the Palestinian issue, now that the peace treaty with Egypt has
been consummated by the final Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. If
Israel can destroy the PLO now, the pressure on the U.S. to speak
to the PLO must be considerably reduced, according to Israeli
government thinking.
One leader in particular in the Middle East is especially concerned over
the fate of the PLO in Lebanon: King Hussein of Jordan. In September 1970
the King was forced to move against the PLO leadership in his own country,
which was attempting to undermine his authority. (About half of Jordan's
population is Palestinian.) Hussein's army drove these radicals out with
many of them fleeing to Lebanon.
Hussein certainly doesn
I
t want them
around causing trouble again.
The crown of Hussein certainly lies uneasily on his head. The warfare in
Lebanon came right on the heels of a series of stinging battle defeats for
President Saddam Hussein (no relation) in Iraq, in that country's war with
Iran.
Jordan has backed Iraq even though Iraq started the war.
Now
Jordan's Hussein and all other leaders of the more moderate states in the
Middle East are greatly troubled by what they see. Iran has recovered its
military prowess. Worse still, its conventional army is backed by militant
Islamic revolutionary guards, who have shown extreme bravery (others say
hell-bent foolhardiness) in battle. Revolutionary guard leaders are urging
the regular army not to stop at the Iran-Iraq border, but to thrust deep
into Iraq itself in order to "liberate" venerated Shiite Moslem holy places
near Baghdad in predominantly Sunni Moslem Iraq. Such religious fanaticism
strikes fear in the hearts of the leaders of other Middle Eastern countries
with Shiite minorities.
Britain Gets Mired in the Falklands
Finally, it now appears that Britain is not only going to have a difficult
and costly time of extracting the remaining Argentine troops from the
Falklands, but is going to become bogged down to a significant degree in
those desolate islands for some time to come.
Argentina's military government has repeatedly said that should its remain
ing forces be removed, that would not end the war; that Argentina would con
tinually press against the Falklands until they are finally "recovered."
Prime Minister Thatcher apparently recognizes this unpleasant fact and has
indicated that the islands will be transformed into a "fortress" against
further Argentine attack. Preparations have already been made for station