A Chronology of U.S.-Middle East Relations

September 4:

Israeli forces in Lebanon made a partial pullback, by evacuating their positions along the Beirut-Damascus highway, in the Shuf mountains, and in the outskirts of Beirut. They established a new front line in southern Lebanon at the Awali river near Sidon, 20 miles south of Beirut. Israeli troops continued to control key mountain ranges near the Beirut-Damascus highway and sections of Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

September 6:

Two U.S. marines serving in the multinational peace-keeping force in Lebanon were killed by incoming rocket fire at their positions near the Beirut International Airport. Three others were injured. The marine contingent had suffered two fatalities August 29 during similar shelling.

September 6:

In an apparent warning to the government of Syria, White House spokesman Larry Speakes said: "I think the Syrians should know that we (the U.S.) do have considerable fire-power offshore" (a reference to the 600 U.S. marines on ships off the coast of Lebanon, with 2,000 en route) "and they should be circumspect in their own active involvement in instigating any violence in the area." Administration officials had been telling journalists privately that they considered Syria responsible in large part for the upsurge of factional fighting in Lebanon.

September 7:

Undersecretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East and South Asian Affairs, Nicholas Veliotes, met in Washington with Ismat Kittani, the Undersecretary of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. State Department spokesman Alan Romberg said the meeting was one in a series of "candid and welcome" exchanges between the U.S. and Iraq.

September 8:

The USS Bowen, an American naval frigate backing up the 1,200 U.S. marines of the multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon, fired four five-inch shells at Druze artillery positions located in the hills overlooking the Beirut airport. The Druze were believed by the marines to be responsible for shelling their positions at the airport.

September 9:

President Reagan told a group of Republican Party leaders in Scottsdale, Arizona, that at the time U.S. marines were sent to Lebanon as part of the multinational force "I don't think we were prepared for or believed there would be an outright civil war as seems to be going on right now." The President said "we are not planning on expanding the (U.S.) forces that are there." At the same time he added: "But we do not see any good reason for withdrawing the multinational forces."

September 10:

U.S. troops concluded one month of joint military exercises with Egypt's forces in the desert west of Cairo. The maneuvers, which began August 10 and were called Bright Star 83, were the largest ever held between the two countries since their inception three years ago.

September 12:

A contingent of 2,000 U.S. marines arrived off the coast of Lebanon aboard three warships, ordered there by President Reagan September 1. Within hours, three more marines on shore belonging to the multinational peacekeeping force were wounded when their positions near the Beirut airport were shelled.

September 12:

Senator Charles McC. Mathias Jr. (R-Md.) introduced a resolution in the Senate that would invoke provisions of the War Powers Resolution requiring Congressional approval to allow President Reagan to keep U.S. marines in Lebanon for more than 60 days. Under the Senator's plan, the President would be authorized to keep troops in Lebanon until the end of April—four months after the 60-day period, which would have started August 31, expires. In the House also, a resolution invoking the War Powers Resolution was introduced.

September 13:

Reagan Administration officials said that President Reagan had given U.S. marine commanders in Lebanon broad authority to use air strikes and artillery fire to help the Lebanese army and the non-American military forces of the multinational peacekeeping force protect U.S. marines and embassy personnel in Lebanon.