Fateful Triangle

The Road to Armageddon754Sephardic slum-dwellers from the Arab countries, but of educatedpeople of western orientation and origin.2.2 The Next RoundAs 1983 began, concerns were mounting about the next round,Katyusha rockets again fell near the northern settlements, somethingthat had not happened until Israeli violence destroyed the 1981 Habibcease-fire. Galilee settlements were advised to introduce special alertsfor an expected intensification of terrorist attacks. 6 Meanwhile,“Diplomatic sources in Damascus said yesterday that Syria has rebuiltits army in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley in expectation of an Israeliattack in late spring or early summer.” The USSR installed a new andmore advanced air defense system in Syria, locating the bases nearDamascus and staffing them with Russian personnel. Israel’s newDefense Minister, Moshe Arens, warned that Israel “could resort to apre-emptive strike against Syria if the buildup of long-range Soviet SAMS[anti-aircraft] missiles continues there and the Israelis conclude they arefaced with a ‘mortal threat’.” The USSR has warned Washington that itwould intervene directly in the event of an Israeli attack on Damascus,and “placing Soviet military men in Syrian bases would make thiswarning a great deal more credible,” the London Economist observes.Ned Temko reports from Moscow that the USSR has warned Israel notto strike the SAM-5 missiles. John Yemma adds from Lebanon thatthe underlying fear is that Israel may be tempted towards apreemptive strike against the Soviet missiles in Syria. And ifthis were to occur, the Soviet soldiers manning theinstallations might be harmed. This, in turn, couldClassics in Politics: The Fateful TriangleNoam Chomsky