Yes, Reagan had battleships shelling the Druze to save Arafat's ass, who had been escorted out of Lebanon long ago. A reality-based community version of those events, somewhat at variance with your 2-line Nadine-esque "objective" summary. Excerpted from en.wikipedia.org
First, the assassination:
Assassination attempt
On June 3, the Palestinian militant group Fatah-The Revolutionary Council (headed by Yasser Arafat's opponent Abu Nidal) attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, Israel's ambassador in London, paralyzing him. Prime Minister Menachem Begin had been informed by Israeli intelligence that the PLO was not involved in the attack on Argov, but withheld this information from his Cabinet (Gilbert, 1998, p. 503). Rafael Eitan, who was then the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, responded to the aforementioned information in his famous saying "Abu Nidal, abu shmidal. We need to screw PLO!"
Any resemblance between that particular event and W's use of 9/11 to get the war of his heart's desire in Iraq is of course purely coincidental. On to the main event:
June 6, 1982: Israel invades
Israel launched Operation Peace for Galilee on June 6, 1982, attacking PLO bases in Lebanon. Israeli forces quickly drove 25 miles into Lebanon, moving into East Beirut with the tacit support of Maronite leaders and militia. When the Israeli cabinet convened to authorize the invasion, Sharon described it as a plan to advance 40 kilometers into Lebanon, demolish PLO strongholds, and establish an expanded security zone that would put northern Israel out of range of PLO rockets. In fact, Israeli chief of staff Rafael Eitan and Sharon had already ordered the invading forces to head straight for Beirut, in accord with Sharon's blueprint dating to September 1981. After the invasion had begun, the UN Security Council passed a further resolution on 6 June 1982, UNSCR 509, which reaffirms UNSCR 508 and "demands that Israel withdraw all its military forces forthwith and unconditionally to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon". [17] Thus far the US had not used its veto. However, on 8 June 1982, the US vetoed a proposed resolution that "reiterates [the] demand that Israel withdraw all its military forces forthwith and unconditionally to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon" [18], thereby giving implicit assent to the Israeli invasion.
[edit] Siege of Beirut
Main article: Siege of Beirut
By 15 June 1982, Israeli units were entrenched outside Beirut. The United States called for PLO withdrawal from Lebanon, and Sharon began to order bombing raids of West Beirut, targeting some 16,000 PLO troops who had retreated into fortified positions. Meanwhile, Arafat attempted through negotiations to salvage politically what was clearly a disaster for the PLO, an attempt which eventually succeeded once the multinational force arrived to evacuate the PLO.
The fighting in Beirut resulted in approximately 6,700 deaths, 80 percent civilian, with 1,100 PLO deaths against 88 for the IDF. Fierce artillery duels between the IDF and the PLO, and PLO shelling of Christian neighborhoods of East Beirut at the outset gave way to escalating aerial IDF bombardment beginning on 21 July 1982 [19] [20]. It is commonly estimated that during the entire campaign, approximately 20,000 were killed on all sides, including many civilians, and 30,000 were wounded[citation needed].
[edit] Negotiations for a cease-fire
On 26 June, a UN Security Council resolution was proposed that "demands the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli forces engaged round Beirut, to a distance of 10 kilometres from the periphery of that city, as a first step towards the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, and the simultaneous withdrawal of the Palestinian armed forces from Beirut, which shall retire to the existing camps"[21]; the United States vetoed the resolution because it was "a transparent attempt to preserve the P.L.O. as a viable political force"[22], an indication of Washington's support for Sharon's objective of destroying the PLO before it could negotiate a withdrawal agreement.
Finally, amid escalating violence and civilian casualties, Philip Habib was once again sent to restore order, which he accomplished on 12 August on the heels of IDF's intensive, day-long bombardment of West Beirut. The Habib-negotiated truce called for the withdrawal of both Israeli and PLO elements, as well as a multinational force composed of U.S. Marines along with French and Italian units that would ensure the departure of the PLO and protect defenseless civilians.
[edit] International intervention: 1981–84
Main article: Multinational Force in Lebanon
A multinational force landed in Beirut on August 20, 1982 to oversee the PLO withdrawal from Lebanon and U.S. mediation resulted in the evacuation of Syrian troops and PLO fighters from Beirut. The agreement also provided for the deployment of a multinational force composed of U.S. Marines along with French, Italian and British units. However, Israel claimed that some 2,000 PLO militants were hiding in Palestinian refugee camps on the outskirts of Beirut.
Bachir Gemayel was elected president under Israeli military control on 23 August. His presidency was unpopular, being voted by a slim margin with most of the Muslim MPs boycotting the session. Many, especially in the Muslim circles, feared his relationship with Israel. He was assassinated on 14 September and general belief is that Syria was behind his murder.
Doesn't exactly sound much like your version. So, after Sharon got the war of his heart's desire, Israel fixed Lebanon real good. Arafat shipped out and Sharon got his chosen lackey installed as president, but somehow the situation continued to devolve and a bunch of Marines got killed. Any resemblence between Sharon's Lebanon war and W's war in Iraq is of course purely coincidental. Who could have possibly foreseen the US getting caught in the middle of a civil war in Iraq after that one? |
