Washington Report, February 6, 1984, Page 6

Facts For Your Files: A Chronology of U.S.-Middle East Relations

January 19:

President Reagan, in responding to Congressional concerns over the continued presence of U.S. marines in Lebanon, said that American forces will not be there permanently, "but we cannot simply withdraw unilaterally without raising questions about the U.S. commitment to moderation and negotiations in the Middle East." The President also said that if a Lebanese government "security plan" put forth late last year—proposing the separation of militia forces and an expansion of the territory under Lebanese army control—is not implemented, "it will be unambiguously the responsibility of the Syrians." Mr. Reagan's remarks were contained in identical letters to Congressmen Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.) and Les Aspin (D-WI), both of whom had written the President last December about their concerns over Lebanon.

January 20:

Administration officials said that U.S. warships off the coast of Lebanon, as well as those in the Gulf and in the Arabian Sea, had been placed on a heightened state of alert to defend against possible "kamikaze" air attacks. The alert was issued, officials said, following intelligence reports which indicated that a variety of aircraft and helicopters—including crates possibly containing small planes or parts for them—had been transported across Iran and Syria to locations closer to U.S. ships offshore.

January 22:

Secretary of State George Shultz confirmed reports that the Reagan Administration was not ruling out the use of preemptive strikes to preclude possible suicide attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East. Asked if the U.S. might carry out such a strike, Mr. Shultz replied: "Yes." He added that "terrorist attacks" have increased worldwide and "in the case of Lebanon, we see increasingly these things originating in Iran. We see them taking place, necessarily with the acquiescence of Syria. We see who this group is. There's Syria, there's Iran, there's Libya and there's the Soviet Union."

January 23:

The Reagan Administration placed rigid controls on U.S. exports to Iran by adding it to the list of countries which have "repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism." The Administration has been saying that Iran played some role in the bombings of both the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and marine compound at the Beirut airport. State Department spokesman John Hughes said that U.S. oil imports from Iran would not be affected.

January 23:

U.S. and Israeli officials began several days of talks in Washington, aimed at implementing strategic cooperation measures that were agreed to by President Reagan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir during the latter's visit to Washington last November. The cooperative measures include military planning, joint exercises, and the prepositioning of U.S. equipment in Israel.

January 30:

At the U.S. marine compound near Beirut, one marine was killed and three others wounded during day-long fighting between marines and Shiite Amal militiamen firing from Beirut's southern suburbs. A spokesman for the militia said that rounds from the marine base had killed two civilians and wounded over a dozen others in the Shiite neighborhoods.

January 31:

Lebanese President Amin Gemayel said in an interview with Washington Post reporters that if U.S. marines were withdrawn from Lebanon "there would not be a new president to replace Amin Gemayel but a revolutionary council under Soviet control, or chaos."

February 1:

House Democrats drafted a resolution calling on President Reagan to begin a "prompt and orderly withdrawal" of U.S. marines from Lebanon. The Administration responded, in a statement by spokesman Larry Speakes: "Talk (within Congress) that indicates to the Syrians and to others who are bent on a destructive route in the Middle East, talk in this nation that we don't have a solid commitment on the part of the President and Congress, only aids and abets these people."