Struggle in the Lebanon
Socialist Challenge1980sPhil HearseScanned print read by OCR, and not yet proofread: expect run-together words, dropped letters and, where a piece began partway down a page, a few lines of its neighbour. The printed page is the authority.
Destruction in the streets of Beirut the Lebanese left. Are they crushed will they be able to resist?
It's true that the Palestinian and the progressive Lebanese forces have lost some important strategic bases, but they have by no means been completely defeated. They are still able to move around quite freely as far as we can tell.
Do for the option vill the option for establsning strong Lebanese state controll ed by the Maronites above phalangists?" the Israel would like establish Phalangistcontrolled state for sure, that doesn't Cones pond exactly with the pro. ject US which is to incorporate Palestinian fighters defend the positions other bourgeois Lebanese leaderships into restructuring the state.
So what Israel is probably going to do is try establish a state headed by the Phalangists but which other bourgeois leaderships have Dall This would include setting up a strong Lebanese army, armed 5 kind of Americans. This solution would be more acceptable to the United Nations and reactionary Arab rulers than a simple Phalangist state.
The other bourgeois other tradinonaist. confessionalist groups on the Muslim side, including Jumblatt's Lebanese National Movement, which is ultimately a bourgeois nationalist despite its alliance with the PLO, and would have to be taken into consideration.
How do you assess the performance the Syrians in this conflict?
If Syria confronted Israel it was only because it was obliged to do so. Considering that Israel said the very start wasn't interested in fighting Israel the Lebanese, but just the Palestinians, Syria respon•ded to that very well from The sraels Doll o yew Since 1975 Israel has been sending naisance planes over and the most sophisticated Syrian weapons have not been used against them. 10 pro tect its image : Syria would from time to time send old planes over Lebanon which it knew would be shot down.
impossible forget the action of the Syrians in 1976, which wasn't unlike that of the which nOW prevented the Lebanese takes the form of a presence in the Lebanon.
to make a bi-lateral agree.
so its only option is to try Arab Louse ar nations for a global agree Israel which consists of the recognition of Israel in the end and the protection all these regimes in the area.
It is quite clear that the Arab regimes are sincere for tel suppor for the Palestinian liberation struggle. But at the moment they cannot afford to demand anythin less than an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank.
The price they would be prepared to pay for an independent mini-state on the West Bank would be recognition of Israel - • in effect selling out tional rights of the Palestinians.
Interview by Phil Hearse