Reagan Undecided About Troops to Lebanon, but His Offer Still Stands

President Reagan told a bipartisan group of Congressional leaders yesterday that he has not yet decided to send U.S. troops into Lebanon although his offer “in principle” still stands. He reaffirmed that he would not take such action before consulting with Congress as required by the War Powers Act of 1973.

Congressmen emerging from the hour-long briefing at the White House quoted Reagan as saying that the conditions he imposed for dispatching a small U.S. contingent to oversee the peaceful evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organization from west Beirut have not been met until now.

Those conditions include a formal request from the Lebanese government, prior agreement among all parties involved on the terms of the PLO’s departure and the guaranteed safety of the U.S. forces.

‘A VERY SHORT ACTION’

Sen. Charles Percy (R. III.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the President assured the Congressional delegation that the involvement of American forces in Lebanon would be “a very short action, a matter of a few days … not more than 30.” Percy said he was impressed by the President’s determination to proceed with extreme caution in this matter. “He knows the risks involved … but he also knows the risks of not acting,” Percy said.

House Speaker Thomas O’Neill, Jr. (D. Mass.) said after the meeting that “we’re a long way” from reaching an agreement among all parties for the departure of the PLO. He indicated that U.S. special envoy Philip Habib, who has been conducting the negotiations in Beirut for the past month, has yet to achieve a breakthrough. “It is not around the corner … There are so many dissident forces, so many emotional problems involved,” O’Neill said.

Although the Congressmen seemed generally satisfied that Reagan would comply with the War Powers Act should he decide to order U.S. troops into Lebanon, some were concerned that he might use a loophole in the measure to extend their stay in the country without Congressional approval.

Section 4(a) (I) of the Act requires the President to report to Congress when U.S. forces are introduced into an area of hostilities or potential hostilities and commits him to withdraw them within 60 days unless Congress declares war or grants an extension which cannot be for more than 30 days.

However, Section 4 (a) (2) requires the President only to report to Congress when U.S. forces are sent “into territory, airspace or waters of a foreign nation while equipped for combat.” This section imposes no time limit. The White House said specifically last week that if U.S. forces go into Lebanon they would be equipped for combat.