Sunday, October 31, 2004

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

In Osama bin Laden’s latest video release he said something that piqued my interest. He stated that is was the behaviour of the American 6th Fleet in Lebanon in 1982 that inspired him to attack Americans. I could have sworn that originally Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda declared war against America because American infidel soldiers were being based in Saudi Arabia and thereby polluting the sacred soil, but hey, never let it be said that I cannot go with the flow.

"God knows that it had not occurred to our mind to attack the towers, but after our patience ran out and we saw the injustice and inflexibility of the American-Israeli alliance toward our people in Palestine and Lebanon, this came to my mind. The incidents that affected me directly go back to 1982 and afterward, when America allowed Israelis to invade Lebanon, with the help of the American 6th Fleet. In these tough moments, many things raged inside me that are hard to describe, but they resulted in a strong feeling against injustice and a strong determination to punish the unjust. While I was looking at these destroyed towers in Lebanon, it sparked in my mind that the tyrant should be punished with the same and that we should destroy towers in America, so that it tastes what we taste and would be deterred from killing our children and women."

This interesting piece of historical distortion sent me back to the books to review the history of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. To understand the rationale of why Israel invaded Lebanon, it is first necessary to understand the context that caused the Israeli’s to invade in the first place.

After attempting to wrestle control against the Jordanian King, the PLO and supporters were driven out and found refuge in Lebanon. Incidentally, Arafat called the King Hussein’s crackdown on Palestinian terrorists a "genocide" against the Palestinian people but nevertheless enough terrorists survived to continue their activities in Lebanon. Once in Lebanon the PLO supporters proceeded to create chaos and mayhem around the world and set about the destruction of civil society in Lebanon where they had found refuge.

The training, planning, organization and financing for the next 8 years of terror were all masterminded in Lebanon by the PLO and supporters. From the Nahariya/Arivim School bus hijacking (yes, the PLO hijacked school buses full of 6-9 year olds), Lod Airport Massacre, Munich Olympic Massacre, Kiryat Shmona Apartment Building Seige, Ma’alot School Seige, Tel Aviv Savoy Hotel hostage taking. After the Costal Road Bus Hijacking that left 35 dead and over 100 wounded the Israeli government launched the Litani River Operation, or the first incursion into Lebanon designed to destroy the PLO bases and staging areas in southern Lebanon. The IDF only penetrated 10 kilometers into Lebanon. The UN Security Council passed resolution 425 condemning the Israeli incursion and calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces in Lebanon.

On March 19, 1978 UN Security Council adopted Resolution 425 calling for the complete withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon and establishing a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon to be manned by an UNIFIL peacekeeping force for the south of Lebanon. Two months after the invasion Israel withdrew to allow UNIFIL forces to patrol a buffer zone in Southern Lebanon. The UNIFIL forces were unable to stop PLO infiltration into Israel by PLO terrorists and there began a series of attacks and retaliatory attacks between the PLO and IDF forces. In 1981, the Reagan Administration brokered a cease fire that lasted approximately 11 months. During this period there were over 270 attacks staged against Israel by the PLO forces leaving 29 Israeli’s murdered and over 300 injured.

The cease fire agreement was honoured by Israel until June 3, 1982 when Abu Nidal organized and planned an assassination attempt against Israeli Ambassador, Shlomo Argov in London. June 4th and 5th saw the IDF launch a retaliatory strike against PLO bases. In return the PLO launched a massive intense artillery and mortar barrage against the Israeli civilian population of Galilee – in spite of the best efforts of UNIFIL.

On June 6, 1982 Israel launched Operation Peace for Galilee or the full scale invasion of southern Lebanon and the invasion began in earnest. In taking the territory from the most southerly part of Lebanon to Beirut; enough weapons and munitions were seized to outfit 5 Israeli brigades. In August, US Ambassador Philip Habib negotiated the withdrawal of Yassir Arafat and his PLO. The Reagan Administration created the Multi-National Force (MNF) that was to facilitate the process of Israeli & PLO withdrawal. On August 21st French troops arrived who were followed by the US Marines on August 24th. By September 1st over 14,000 PLO forces were evacuated and relocated to Tunis, Tunisia without significant incidents and the US Marines withdraw to their ships on September 10th.

During the proceeding days the situation deteriorated and cumulated with Syrian backed group assassinating Maronite Catholic President-Elect Bashir Gemavel who favoured co-operation with Israel on September 14th. On September 15th, under orders from the Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon (without the backing of the Israeli cabinet) moved forward and took up positions throughout much of West Beirut. The US and the UN called for immediate Israeli withdrawal. Concerned that PLO forces or agents were left in the refugee camps the Israeli’s allowed the Christian Phalange forces under the leadership of Elie Hobeika to enter the camps for the express purpose of routing out any PLO forces that remained behind. 700-800 Palestinian refugees (men, woman and children) were murdered by the Phalangists until the Israeli forces wrestled control from the Phalangists in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

President Ronald Reagan outraged at the horror of the massacre announced on September 20th a new formation of a MNF from the US, France and Italy to take over in Lebanon until the Lebanese had a chance to stabilized their government. Negotiations over the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a possible treaty between Lebanon and Israel were conducted. The negotiations also included the need for the removal of the foreign fighters that were still left in the country.

In April 1983 a car bomb placed by Hezbollah operating from Syrian controlled territory exploded at the US embassy in Beirut, killing 17 US diplomatic and military personnel and over 40 Lebanese citizens.

In May 1983 Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement ending the State of War between the countries but the agreement was contingent upon Syrian and Palestinian forces leaving the country in a parallel withdrawal with the Israeli forces. Syria who controlled 35% of Lebanon refused to withdraw and the agreement was never executed. The only unbiased stabilizing force was the MNF. As 1983 continued the US Marines were more and more involved with armed clashed with the remnants of PLO, Syrian supplied Druze/Lebanese Muslim fractions. On the dawn of October 23rd, trucks packed with explosives blew-up the Marine and French barracks. The death toll was 241 US Marines and 56 French Troops.

By February 1984 active fighting had broken out between the Syrian backed Druze and Muslim militia forces and the Lebanese Army. On February 26, 1984 the MNF were ordered out of Lebanon. The US Marines were moved to their ships offshore. On March 5th, the government of Lebanon under pressure by Syria renounced the May 17, 1983 agreement for ending the State of War with Israel. In June 1985, Israel withdrew most of its troops from Lebanon leaving a small Israeli force and an Israeli supported militia (South Lebanon Army) in southern Lebanon creating a security zone in a 3-5 mile strip along the length of the Lebanese-Israeli border.

On May 24, 2000 Israel withdrew all its troops out of southern Lebanon and all Israeli and South Lebanon Army outposts were evacuated. Not even 6 months after the complete withdrawal of Israeli and SLA forces from the buffer zone, Yassir Arafat, from the West Bank launched his current Intifada against Israel.

There are obvious lessons here. It is important to note that the 6th Fleet never offered support in any way shape or form for the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. If it was not for the active intervention of the Reagan Administration, Arafat and his PLO minions would not have made it out of Lebanon alive. The US Marine role in Lebanon was peacekeeping. For the MNF’s efforts, they suffered substantial attacks and casualties from the very people they trying to protect. In the end, the decision to remove the MNF from Lebanon was based on the fact that the there was no possibility of peace to keep between the warring Syrian backed Muslim militia, Palestinian, Phalange/Christian militia fractions. Finally, there is no country where Arafat and his minions have ever taken root that they have not attempted to subvert and destroy the infrastructural of civil society that they were residing in. As my grandmother use to say, "No good deed goes unpunished."

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