Officials here said that Secretary of State Henry A, Kissinger’s reiteration in Copenhagen today of the U.S. warning against outside intervention in the Lebanese conflict was aimed primarily at Syria. Noting that the Secretary, who is enroute to Moscow, spoke against “any unilateral action,” sources here said that Kissinger knows that no such action need be feared from Israel.
They added that Israel might react only in face of a Syrian invasion of Lebanon but did not intimate that the U.S. would approve or condone an Israeli reaction under those circumstances.
Meanwhile, officials denied reports that Premier Yitzhak Rabin was considering postponing his trip to Washington next week because of the worsening situation in Lebanon. They said preparations were going ahead for the Premier’s American visit according to plan.
(State Department spokesman John Trattner said in Washington today that the U.S. was “looking forward” to welcoming Premier Rabin there next week. He made the statement when asked about reports that Rabin might postpone his visit because of the Lebanese situation.)
U.S. NOT CONSIDERING INTERVENING
(U.S. officials said today in Washington that they had information that some Palestinian units had entered Lebanon from Syria but would not say whether these units were actually fighting Spokesmen at the White House and the State Department reiterated that the U.S. has warned all outside parties against intervening in Lebanon but did not say what position the U.S. would take if in fact, such intervention occurred.
(A White House official said there was “no evidence” that Syrian military forces have entered Lebanon but was unable to reply when asked how he could distinguish between Syrians and Palestinians.
(When reporters recalled that in 1958 President Eisenhower ordered U.S. marines landed in Lebanon when the Lebanese government appeared threatened, spokesmen emphasized that the U.S. will not intervene. Trattner said, “I would like to make it clear that we are not giving any consideration to U.S. intervention in Lebanon.” He added, “We are deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation and everybody concerned is aware of our views.”)
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