Framework for a Mideast future
Hehir, J. Bryan
Church/world watch Framework for a Mideast future J. Bryan Hehir THE CAREENING COURSE of events in the Middle Eat during the summer of 1982 has left most observers with a sense of exhaustion....
...Three themes deserve comment in light of the Tueni-Saunders articles: the primacy of Lebanon...
...second, the need for rapid and total withdrawal of the Syrians and the Israelis from Lebanon...
...Two articles, one by Ghassan Tueni, the other by Harold Saunders, provide distinct but complementary perspectives on the present moment in the Middle East...
...The Israelis, who sought to destroy the PLO politically and militarily, have not succeeded...
...Those in search of a framework will find a substantial resource in the fall issue of Foreign Affairs...
...The U.S...
...For Tueni, Lebanon's greatest danger lies not within the country, but in the possibility that Syrian and Israeli objectives consist in a "symmetrical occupation" of Lebanon rather than in symmetrical withdrawal...
...First, the need for a massive reconstruction effort is evident to all...
...The critical factor will be the quality of political vision and courage available...
...In his words:' 'Ten years of war and a century or two of struggle to establish Lebanon in its present form have proven how impossible it is to create an equilibrium in the Middle East - a balance of power, of wealth and of culture - without a peaceful Lebanon...
...The Palestinian cause is still a central fact in the Middle East...
...The United States faces pivotal choices in its relations with Israel, the Arab states, and the Palestinians...
...While the Camp David accords provide a viable framework for the diplomatic initiatives which are needed, it is the Israeli-Palestinian dimension of the problem which must be given principal attention now...
...J. BRYAN HEHK...
...Tueni is correct in saying that the war in Lebanon was misdefined as a religious war...
...As Tueni puts it: "There can be no return to the past, nor should there be...
...The primacy of Lebanon means three things...
...Both Tueni and Saunders are adamant in their conviction that withdrawal of foreign forces is a precondition to serious progress within Lebanon...
...Israel was rightly criticized after the Beirut massacre, but Christian forces did the killing...
...Tueni's point, however, is not only that Lebanon deserves priority treatment because of what the Lebanese have suffered...
...The need to talk frankly and fraternally as religious communities about the Middle East has never been greater...
...Changing attitudes is not a purely psychological question...
...The need is literally for social reconstruction...
...He is equally convinced that failure to address "The Lebanon Question" as the first item on the Mideast agenda will doom all other attempts at regional or geopolitical solutions in that part of the world...
...In Saunders's view all the major actors face choices...
...This broader picture is the predominant concern of Hal Saunders, an analyst unrivaled in Washington for his knowledge of and experience in Mideast policy...
...The primacy of Lebanon: this is a central concern of Ghassan Tueni...
...Lebanon and the Middle East: Lebanon is part of the larger canvas...
...Third, the significance of outside forces does not dissolve the ultimate challenge for the Lebanese: reconstruction of the social compact in Lebanon along democratic-pluralistic lines...
...and the religious factor in the political equation...
...The present moment contains both danger and potential...
...stands on the Palestinian question...
...For the Arab states and the Palestinians, the Gordian knot of diplomatic recognition of Israel must be cut...
...Having represented his country at the United Nations with eloquence, wisdom, and dignity throughout the excruciatingly difficult period since 1978, he has earned the right to press Lebanon's claims...
...The religious factor permeates both "The Lebanon Question" and the Middle East...
...President Reagan's speech last month was a first step...
...the Israelis need to come to grips with the fact, including its implications for future negotiations...
...They have yet to say convincingly that they are prepared for peace with Israel if Israel will make peace with them...
...strategy must be "comprehensive," requiring new clarity about U.S.-Israeli relations and a clear statement of where the U.S...
...Both of these authors bring an uncommon combination of intelligence, civility,and moral sensitivity to diplomacy...
...Saunders highlights the challenge: "In short, after several years of detailed Egyptian-Israeli negotiation, we are now back near the beginning of an Israeli-Palestinian peace process, in a pre-negotiation phase dealing with attitudes which block negotiation...
...For Saunders, the summer of 1982 marked a decisive turning point for all the actors in the Middle East...
...but the religious factor is part of the future challenge in Lebanon...
...We should rise to this challenge...
...The preeminent need of the moment is a framework to analyze the impact of the last three months and to set the direction for the future...
...it must yield new political consequences...
...In the United States the necessary debate which we face on U.S.-Israeli relations will not be a purely political debate...
...Religious ties have been strained more than once this summer...
...the potential of the present moment in the Middle East...
Vol. 109 • October 1982 • No. 18
