U.S. Says Plan for Manning Early Warning Station is Now Academic

The State Department spokesman, John Hughes, said today that until a plan was agreed upon for the withdrawal of the foreign troops from Lebanon, it was “purely academic” to discuss the possibility of providing American personnel to man early warning systems in south Lebanon.

U.S. special envoy Philip Habib reportedly suggested this possibility in discussions with Israeli officials today. Hughes noted that it has been consistent policy of the State Department not to discuss the details of the negotiations in which the U.S. is engaged in with Lebanon and Israel.

However, Hughes said the whole matter is a “very hypothetical situation.” He said the U.S. has “consistently said that until there is a plan for the with drawl of PLO, Israeli and Syrian troops from Lebanon, the question of any change in the role “for either the multinational force in general, or the U.S. troops in particular “is purely academic.”