Divide and rule is U.S.- 4 By LEWIS MOROZE adlines coming from the Mideast give one the feel- gf deja vu, circa 1982, just before Israel’s unprovok- i. ssion against Lebanon. ‘he U-S. and Israel, partners in what is called the yJsrael Strategic Military Alliance, plotted that at- ch on Lebanon and are now, with the assistance of ¥veme right-wing forces in Lebanon, conducting mur- sus air raids on Syrian headquarters in Lebanon. It is hortant to note that Syria is stationed there at the est of the Lebanese government. For some time {sraeli ruling circles have been publicly talking djyut unleashing a war against Syria. urrent reports indicate that the Israeli Government {wational Unity is pursuing a double-barreled offen- ie (1) to take all steps necessary to forestall the build- ls pf a united, independent Lebanon by provoking and jing the internecine strife still plaguing the people of anon and (2) laying the groundwork for an all-out 2 attack on Syria, the staunch anti-imperialist atry in the region. artner with Israel in this plot is the Reagan admin- jon, whose nuclear battle fleet is patrolling the \ ces of Lebanon, ready to fire missiles into Syria on \, slightest pretext. ‘yhe rightwing Phalangist Lebanese leaders and Israeli hawks are disturbed by the slowly growing unity and . degree of order being established in Lebanon. The gists, falsely charging that the presence of Syrian advisers is ‘‘unlawful,’’ underscored their false s by dropping bombs close to Syrian headquarters est Beirut. eanwhile, the Israeli foreign ministry arrogantly . claimed that they are “‘in principle against a Syrian ce in Lebanon,”’ while Israel itself is an uninvited st occupying southern Lebanon, from which they -k urban areas in central and northern Lebanon. may soon discover that the Israeli government con- the United Nations military presence in Lebanon pe illegal. This, of course, would explain why the 5 clear the way for further involvement in Lebanon, aeli policy in Lebanon Israeli military recently clashed with the UN forces. The parallel positions taken by the Israeli ruling circles and the Lebanese Phalangists are glaringly patent. They cynically and hypocritically charge that the anti-Syrian attacks in West Beirut were the work of a Moslem religi- ous grouping. The intent is clear — to widen the dif- ferences between the Christian and Moslem people of Lebanon to further their own ulterior motives — divide and rule. Pursuing their genocidal policy against the Palestinian people, the Israelis have unleashed their airforce against the Palestinian refugee camp at Ain-al-Hilweh, which was also shelled by Israeli torpedo boats under the protection of the U.S. fleet in the Mediterranean. Lebanese Premier Rachid Karame bitterly criticized the bombings at the Syrian headquarters and the bomb- ings at Baisur, Aitat and Shimlan, areas controlled by the Progressive Socialist Party. Asserting that the presence of Syrian troops in Leba- non ‘‘is a lawful act undertaken in response to an official request,’ Karame rejected the position taken by the Lebanese rightwingers and the Israeli authorities in their opposition to the presence of Syrian military observers. The Israelis speak brazenly about attacking Syria. The ex-chief of Israeli military intelligence, Aaron Yariv, wrote in an official report that “‘Syria posed the only immediate military threat to Israel.’’ Brazenly, Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin boasts that in 1970 ‘‘the United States and Israel might have acted together to attack Syria.” The Reaganites and their Israeli allies find Syria a bone in their throats. It was soon after the alliance was signed by the U.S. and Israel that Israel annexed the Golan Heights. Syria’s anti-imperialist stance is an obstacle to the aims of each of the partners of the alliance. Israel finds Syria ‘‘aggressive’’ for fortifying its own borders. Israel and the U.S. are angered at Syria for breaking off relations with Morocco for having engaged in bilateral talks with Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Israeli foreign policy compels the National Unity Government to nurture jingoism, chauvinism and racism The Reaganites and their Israeli allies find Syria a bone in their throats. Syria’s anti-imperialist stance is an obstacle to the aims of each of the partners of the alliance. at home. The war economy is also undermining the Unity Government, causing fissures between the partners and within the governing coalitions. Sectors of the Israeli people are calling for a United front against the policies of the government. The war clouds hovering over the Mideast could very well trigger a world conflagration and not be limited to a war against Syria. It is absolutely necessary for U.S. peace forces to give proper attention to the war danger in the Mideast. To neglect this hot spot is to play with the danger of a world nuclear holocaust. In Israel and in the Jewish American community, there is a growing appreciation of the need for an interna- tional conference on the Mideast under the auspices of the UN. This is the road to peace in the Middle East. — U.S. People’s Daily World INTERNATIONAL FOCUS Tom Morris ‘the marvels pf U.S. science Some years back I recall ‘watching a debate on U.S. jelevision in which a military surgeon argued that the Viet- 1am War was a good thing for humankind because of the medical advances that could be de out of the carnage. He had a sophisticated de- ivery which was chilling. He treatment and in the transportation of wounded — ‘as if we were considering . His detachment was 1ised as professionalism. man used all the argu- put forward by nazi doc- who conducted experi- on concentration camp s to find new ways to nazi army battle casual- U.S. doctor avoided tioning that while he was ag his bit for humanity, his rgies toward creating -more lethal death ma- ines. I suppose he’d see that ,a sort of division of labor. All this came to mind read- ing a news item out of Afghan- i which reports the most spoke of leaps in burn and | gues were putting their up-to-date U.S.-made chem- ical weapons are now being used by the counter-revolu- tionary forces in that long con- flict. Captured experimental-type grenades and mines filled with nerve gas, pellet bombs in which the pellets are covered with deadly mercury and de- vices for poisoning wells and water reservoirs are among the gadgets being taken from cap- tured troops. ‘And, in the name of re- search, no doubt, the bandits are being instructed to bring back to Pakistan samples of soil and water for analysis to determine effectiveness. As it did after the atom- bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and throughout the 10-year war against Vietnam, U.S. Science doesn’t miss a trick when it comes to benefit- ting from live, on-site situa- tions to perfect its equipment — for the good of humanity, of course. Mulroney . on drugs It seems that if Reagan de- cided to zero in on the im- morality of the sex life of the American tree toad, Brian Mulroney would discover the problem also to be epidemic here in Canada. It can’t be accidental that when Reagan’s public rela- tions people conjure up anissue (it’s mid-term election year in the U.S.), Mulroney’s hacks appear to advice him to play copycat. Thus we no sooner watched the glitch of Nancy and Ronnie on TV “‘declaring war’ on U.S. drug use, then there was Brian talking about ‘‘epi- demic’’ and our social fabric being undermined. Reagan’s hypocrisy in dis- covering the drug issue is only surpassed by Mulroney’s silly “‘me too’’ posturing. It’s even more ridiculous since Rea- gan’s ploy will probably find some fertile ground with U.S. citizens, while Canadians will largely just wonder what Brian is smoking. Nobody, least of all serious people, would play down the problem of drug use and abuse in the ‘‘free world’’. It’s amaz- ing, isn’t it, that the problem doesn’t exist in socialist states? Neither does unem- ployment and the dead-end de- spair of youth we see here. If Mulroney is talking about a drug epidemic — how about a 12 per cent unemployment epidemic undermining our so- cial fabric? What about the epidemic of a dead-end sys- tem? And what about the epi- demic of old-line politicos who are as dangerous to the coun- try’s health as smack? Misusing the drug issue for cheap votes won’t work — even if Mulroney had thought of the idea first. Dracula and — the blood bank Israeli Prime Minister Shi- mon Perez says he has Rea- gan’s backing for the idea of a Western-nations’ ‘‘anti-terror- ist’ force which they would send around the world at a moment’s notice. Just think about it for a min- ute: we’ll have a mobile mili- tary force, led by the U-S., operating as sort of a Samurai to go anywhere, any time to impose law and order. No bureaucratic United Nations’ red tape, no international law to be concerned with, just the good offices of Reagan and Pe- rez, both recognized honest brokers. If such a SWAT squad were formed, imagine the sighs of re- lief that would be heard. For example: e Nicaragua could call on the mobile force to assist it in resisting contra. terrorist at- tacks; e The Palestinians could employ the force against zion- ist settlers forcibly stealing Arab land; e The Grenadians could have had the force meet the U.S. Marines on the beaches; e The Lebanese could line them up along the Israel-Leb- anon frontier as protection against Israeli raids; e The Soviet Union could pull its troops out of Afghanis- tan, knowing the mobile force would assist Kabul in its anti- terrorist fight. e Angola would see the force taking on the South Afri- can-U.S.-backed gangsters of Savimbi who operate inside the country killing and burning at will. There’s no end of tasks. The problem, of course, is that Reagan and Perez lead two nations with overtly terrorist state policies. To have them decide on what terrorism is, is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank. PACIFIC TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 24, 1986 e 9