President Reagan vowed last night to continue his efforts for Mideast peace as outlined in his September I peace initiative.
In his State of the Union address, devoted chiefly to economics, Reagan noted that in his peace initiative “I outlined principles to carry on the peace process begun so promisingly at Camp David. All the people of the Mideast should know that, in the year ahead, we will not flag in our efforts to build on that foundation to bring them the blessings of peace.”
Noting that “we should be proud of our role as peace-makers,” the President stressed that the U.S. “played a major role in ending the tragic fighting in Lebanon and negotiated the withdrawal of the PLO from Beirut.”
This theme was also stressed in the Administration’s midterm report on Reagan’s two years in office. The 118-page report, which only mention the Mideast briefly, was issued by the White House last Thursday. Among 10 major accomplishments the report said were made in Reagan’s first two years in office was that the “prospect for Mideast peace advanced” through the peace initiative and the efforts in Lebanon.
Reagan’s proposals for Mideast peace” launched a fresh start toward a settlement of conflict there that would ensure Israel’s security and the legitimate rights of the Palestinians,” the midterm review said in its introduction. “The year ended with historic talks ongoing between Lebanon and Israel (with U.S. participating) on the removal of foreign forces from Lebanon.”
The review also noted that “the U.S. was instrumental in establishing a multinational force and observers for the Sinai in the context of helping Israel and Egypt work out the details permitting completion of the Israeli withdrawal from Egyptian territory and full implementation of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.”
The review said that primarily due to the efforts of the President and Ambassador Philip Habib,” the U.S. helped stop the war in Lebanon and achieved the withdrawal of PLO forces from Beirut. Working closely with Lebanon and other states involved, the President has emphasized the urgency of achieving a withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon.”
On Reagan’s peace initiative, the review noted the “highly constructive” visit by an Arab League delegation to the White House last year as “illustrative of the positive movement which has taken place in the direction the President outlined.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
