A high-level U.S. Defense Department delegation arrived here today for discussions with Israeli defense officials on the performance of American weaponry used by the Israeli army and air force in the war in Lebanon.
The five-member group, headed by the Pentagon’s assessment director Andrew Marshall, is believed to be interested in the lessons derived from the use of American and Israel-made equipment against Soviet equipped Syrian and Palestinian forces. The latter includes the Soviet T-72 tank, SAM antiaircraft missiles and MIG-23 and MIG-25 combat aircraft.
The U.S. has been seeking such information for some time but the Israelis have held off, apparently seeking an end to the freeze Washington imposed on the shipment of certain aircraft and cluster bombs to Israel.
Another arrival over the weekend was former U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig. He will receive an honorary doctorate today from Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba. Haig is scheduled to meet with Premier Menachem Begin, Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon during his five-day stay in the country.
He told reporters on his arrival that he was “very, very hopeful” about the prospects of an early withdrawal of Syrian, Israeli and Palestinian forces from Lebanon. “I do not think that Israel desires to stay on in Lebanon one hour longer than is necessary,” Haig said.
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