Fateful Triangle

Peace for Galilee431Reuters correspondent Patrick Worsnip described the “Phalangist-Israeli cooperation” as “a nightmare come true for Lebanese leftists andPalestinians,” noting that the Phalangists had opposed the Palestiniansbecause “they feared the new arrivals could tilt the confessional balancein favor of their Moslem rivals and threaten their own politicalsupremacy in a country in which they were the minority, and noting alsothat “many Lebanese Christians, especially non-Maronite sects, rejectPhalangist policies.” Meanwhile, Israel’s main ally in Lebanon, PierreGemayel, expressed his reservations concerning the liberation in aninterview. He described it as “a catastrophe for Lebanon, thePalestinians and the Arab world,” which might even lead to “aninternational war.” The “Israeli presence is going to ruin this Lebaneseformula, much to Israel’s joy”—where the “Lebanese formula” is the“association between two civilizations,” Christian and Muslim; and it willlead to the division of Lebanon into “who knows what [sectarian]states.” In short, something less than unreserved pleasure, even fromthis quarter. 180Protests mounted as the invasion-liberation ground on. By late June,Prime Minister Wazzan and Walid Jumblatt stated that they could notcontinue the negotiations to remove the PLO from Beirut because of theunremitting Israeli attacks. Wazzan stated:Every time we reach some kind of understanding, we runinto a new escalation as if designed to pressure us. You canquote me: this is an international conspiracy againstLebanon and the Lebanese. You want me to remain silentwhile Philip Habib watches the bombardment of residentialareas? As if we were rats in this country! Shafik Wazzancannot accept this... Therefore, I have informed PresidentSarkis that I cannot continue shouldering my responsibilityClassics in Politics: The Fateful TriangleNoam Chomsky