 Yes Mr. President, the Palestinians were and still are the cause of all our plights since they first came to Lebanon. We do all remember the glorious times when they smuggled all kinds of arms from Syria, sometimes in coffins of so called martyrs of the revolution when one Prime Minister saluted their bravery. We do all remember the open position of the Syrian government in supporting their infiltrations through the Dei El Achayer area and their spreading out all over the Lebanese territory. We do all remember the 1969 fighting in that same area which opposed Syrian regulars to the Lebanese army on Lebanese soil. And things went worse in 1973, and worser in 1975-76 when syrian troops attacked and stormed lebanese villages -Damour, Aichieh, Deir Achach and many others- slaughtering women and children in a campain of terror. Aichieh, the road to Marjeyoun from Jezzine. That is when Israel helped Major Saad Haddad to install the "good fence" in face of invading strangers when he was cut off from his headquarters in Yarzeh. When Syria took over the whole decision-making at State level in Lebanon in 1977, an incident like that of Kawkaba was obvious: the invasion of the South was to take place in the shade of helpless Lebanese soldiers. Syrians thought it was easier to ride on a Trojan horse for that matter. After that? We do all know too much the March 11, 1978 bus hijacking along the Haifa-Tell Aviv which triggered the Litani Operation! Israel invaded, the PLO took the whole South as hostage until the Syrians brought more SA batteries into the Bekaa causing directly the greay disaster of 1982. The government of Mr. Gemayel lacked the very essence of statehood sense to have the will of taking things firmly in hand in face of the Syrians AND the Israelis. Mr. Gemayel managed badly an on-going crisis. Remember Mr. President the nice and cool job you had then with the americans of the Multi-National Forces who ran directly our crisis from August 25, 1982 until December 1st, 1987. You were then part of the crisis, and still are. A Former Lebanese Diplomat - BEIRUT |