— The State Department, apparently reflecting the concern that the Reagan Administration feels about the escalation of events in Lebanon, has created a task force to monitor the situation there “hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute,” Department spokesman Dean Fischer disclosed today. But Fischer denied that the U.S. fears a major new offensive by any of the parties involved.
He said the creation of the task force is a “reflection of the urgency of the situation as perceived by this government” and repeated Secretary of State Alexander Haig’s comment of yesterday that the situation in Lebanon is “very worrisome.”
Haig discussed developments in Lebanon today with United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim at meetings at the State Department and at the White House, the latter attended by President Reagan and Vice President George Bush. After the meeting, Waldheim told reporters that he believed “there is no immediate danger of escalation” in the fighting in Lebanon and ruled out the expansion of UN forces in that country under present circumstances.
U.S. CONFIRMS PRESENCE OF SAM MISSILES
Meanwhile, Fischer said the U.S. has confirmed that Syria has moved Soviet-made SAM-6 anti-aircraft missiles into Lebanon but does not know how many or their location. He said he could not comment on any diplomatic moves being made by the U.S. or their progress.
He said he could only say what he said yesterday, that “the U.S. is continuing intensive and sustained efforts with all governments and virtually all parties which have any influence or interests in developments in Lebanon to bring about a stable situation.” He also repeated that “all parties” does not include the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Fischer said that when the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Samuel Lewis, met with Premier Menachem Begin yesterday, Lewis “expressed deep concern over the dangerous events” in Lebanon. State Department officials would not give any other details of the Lewis-Begin meeting nor would they say whether Lewis has raised any objections to Israel’s use of American planes to down two Syrian helicopters attacking Christian villages in Lebanon.
The Reagan Administration has not responded to charges that the use of American equipment by Israel in Lebanon may be illegal. While noting that from his previous statements reporters could “infer” that the U.S. has been in contact with Saudi Arabia on the situation in Lebanon, Fischer would not comment on reports that the Saudis had threatened to withdraw their financial support from the Syrian army in Lebanon.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
