Washington Report, October 4, 1982, Page 6

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

September 17:

The United States voted in favor of a United Nations Security Council resolution which condemned "the recent Israeli incursions into Beirut in violation of the cease-fire agreements and of Security Council resolutions" which called for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. The resolution, which passed unanimously, demanded "an immediate return to the positions occupied by Israel before 15 September."

September 17:

U.S. State Department spokesman John Hughes said that "as the result of the exchanges during the course of the summer and in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of President-elect Gemayel, we were left with what we regarded as the clear understanding that Israel had no intention of taking military control of West Beirut." He also said that the U.S. protested "vigorously" to the government of Israel after Israeli shells landed near the American Embassy in West Beirut and after an Israeli army officer fired at an unarmed U.S. marine guarding the Embassy.

September 18:

President Reagan said in a statement that he was "horrified" by the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in the Shatila and Sabra refugee camps in Beirut. He also said: "We strongly opposed Israel's move into West Beirut following the assassination of President-elect Gemayel, both because we believed it wrong in principle and for fear that it would provoke further fighting ... We have today summoned the Israeli Ambassador to demand that the Israeli government immediately withdraw its forces from West Beirut to the positions occupied on Sept. 14. We also expect Israel thereafter to commence serious negotiations which will first lead to the earliest possible disengagements of Israeli forces from Beirut and second to an agreed framework for the early withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon."

September I8:

The Reagan Administration released a statement saying that, together with the governments of France and Italy, it had urged the Secretary General of the United Nations "to dispatch observers immediately to the sites of the greatest human suffering and losses in and around" the city of Beirut.

September 19:

The United States joined the other 14 members of the United Nations Security Council in approving a resolution condemning "the criminal massacre of Palestinian civilians" and calling for an additional 40 unarmed U.N. observers to be placed "in and around Beirut ... to ensure full protection for the civilian population." Ten U.N. observers were already in Beirut at the time the resolution was drafted.

September 20:

In a nationally televised speech President Reagan said that at the request of the Lebanese government he was ordering U.S. marines back to Beirut to serve as part of a new multinational force "with the mission of enabling the Lebanese government to resume full sovereignty over its capital—the essential precondition for extending its control over the entire country." The President said that the multinational force would return to Beirut "for a limited period of time," and that for it to succeed, "it is essential that Israel withdraw from Beirut." He added. "It is now urgent that specific arrangements for withdrawal of all foreign forces (from Lebanon) be agreed upon. This must happen very soon."

September 20:

The Reagan Administration informed Congress that it plans to sell the government of Bahrain four Northrop built F5G Tigershark jet fighters as well as F5F fighters in an effort to help that country build an air force. The $180 million package—which can be overruled by Congress within 30 days—would be the first large sale of modern U.S. weapons to Bahrain.

September 21:

U.S. State Department spokesman John Hughes reiterated that "we are calling for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Beirut." He added that although "there seems to be a draw down of Israeli troops in Beirut this very day ... we are not aware that any Israeli unit has yet been withdrawn from the city. That is what we are asking for and want to see."

September 21:

In response to reporters' questions about who was to blame for the massacre in Beirut, U.S. State Department spokesman John Hughes said: "The fact is that Israel assumed responsibility for military control of Beirut, and these events did happen during that period when Israel assumed military control." He added: "If you assume military control of an area, you are responsible for what happens there."

September 23:

Vice President George Bush said in a speech before the Washington Press Club: "The recent Fez proposal of Arab states provides an implicit recognition of Israel by calling for the United Nations Security Council to guarantee a peace among all the states of the region."

September 23:

U.S. State Department spokesman John Hughes, in reference to the scheduled landing in Beirut of 800 U.S. marines on Sunday, Sept. 26, said: "It is our expectation and hope that the Israelis would be gone by the time the marines land." When asked what the U.S. might do if the Israelis had not completed their withdrawal by that time, Mr. Hughes said: "Our plans are to go ahead."

September 25:

Two American military officers belonging to a U.N. observer mission in Lebanon were killed when the jeep in which they were riding ran over a land mine nine miles east of Beirut.

September 28:

President Reagan said at a White House news conference that the U.S. marines that were to land in Beirut the following day would not be withdrawn until Israeli and Syrian forces were out of Lebanon, adding that: "The Lebanese government will be the ones that tell us when they feel that they're in charge and they (the marines) can go home."

September 29:

About 800 U.S. marines from the 32nd Amphibious Unit landed in Beirut and immediately took up positions at the Beirut International Airport, from which the last Israeli soldiers had departed only minutes earlier. The arrival of the marines had been delayed for three days while the Administration waited for Israel to evacuate the airport.

September 29:

U.S. State Department spokesman Alan Romberg said, in attempting to clarify previous statements by President Reagan on how long U.S. troops are expected to remain in Lebanon: "It would be up to the government of Lebanon to request the marines to leave, whether forces (Israeli and Syrian) are gone or not."

September 30:

Four-hundred more U.S. marines landed in Lebanon, bringing the total U.S. marine presence up to 1,200.