Fateful Triangle

Aftermath614command, whatever story they might concoct.The official Israeli justification for the invasion, issued on ThursdaySeptember 16, was that Israeli forces entered West Beirut “in order toprevent the danger of violence, bloodshed and anarchy.” 46 Up to thatpoint, there had been no violence, bloodshed, anarchy, or even disorder,and the Lebanese government expressed its firm belief that peace couldbe maintained under the control of the Lebanese army, which, accordingto Sharon, was under orders from the Lebanese Prime Minister “to openfire on Israeli soldiers entering west Beirut.” 47 The Lebanese army didnot do so, for obvious reasons. As an Israeli colonel stated, “If they [theLebanese army] shoot at us, we will kill them.” 48 Another phase of theliberation begins.“Beirut’s moderate Moslems pleaded for some response fromWashington.” The Prime Minister said: “We are waiting, the wholeworld is waiting.” “The Moslem leadership was infuriated... SaebSalaam, the elder statesman who had worked closely with the UnitedStates on the plan that led to the PLO’s evacuation from Beirut, sentPresident Ronald Reagan a personal letter, saying, ‘We urge you to haltthe Israeli army and to protect the population of Beirut’.” Both Salamand Prime Minister Wazzan stated that Washington had assured them“that Israel would not invade West Beirut and would not botherPalestinians in the refugee camps once Yasser Arafat and his forces hadleft Beirut,” 49 assurances that they apparently believed, with startlingnaivete. Recall the assurances of the governor of Bessarabia.Given the speed with which explanations replaced one another in theface of international reaction to what happened next, it is useful to recallthat in announcing its original intention to enter West Beirut, the Israeligovernment added emphatically that the military thrust was aimed solelyat maintaining order following the Gemayel assassination. “This hasnothing to do with the terrorists still there,” a Government official stated:Classics in Politics: The Fateful TriangleNoam Chomsky