THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS The How's and Why's of 'Dealing With Syria' backdrop of one key point the President made to re- porters Sunday. 'If our forces are attacked,' Mr. Reagan said, 'we will re- spond. We're going to de- fend our personnel.' "No matter how many conflicting and vague in- terpretations 'Administra- tion sources' give us the next few days of U.S. inten- tions in Lebanon, we think the message of the U.S. bombing and the President's statement ought to be clear enough to B GU Parley the Syrians and their BEERSHEBA (JNI) — Soviet consultants: You More than 100 Jews and want to play rough, okay, Beduin Arabs attended a we'll play rough. two-day conference on "The "The U.S escalation is Family as a Means of Im- parting Values" at Ben- of course eliciting objec- Gurion University last tions from all the usual places — Democratic month. Presidential candidates, McGovernite Con- gressmen and former Carter officials, anonym- ous State Department `sources' and the same newspaper columnists and TV commentators It• OttOt% who denounced the U.S. 00 VO r" intervention in Grenada. For the Hotidays There are a few things, however, that we suspect \Nily not Give a most Americans are be- Gilt CerOicate ginning to understand. For Gustorn Snorts "First of all, what we're dealing with in the Syrians is basically a bunch of thugs. This isn't the gov- ernment of Lebanon or Jor- SWV1141°19 dan or Saudi Arabia. This is 01 s.ss000s thso the crowd that most re- toott to Voe V olog`oesoittestce) 00 sb wq cently gave a group of Ira- 64'0 llaNa ri I nian Shiites the means to , 11 00 blow up American, French ,14:2"Itzake P fp, and Israeli- military corn- pounds. "These are the Syrians whose entry into the Shouf Mountains was followed by unprecedented acts of slaughter. And an event that keeps trying to dive down the memory hole — this is the Syrian govern- ment that in 1982 sent troops into the city of Hama and annihilated some 25,000 Syrian citizens for opposing the policies of President Hafez Assad. "The fact that Syria's foreign minister is now in- voking the United Nations charter to say the U.S. is `undermining the . sover- eignty and independence of countries in the region' doesn't mean the rest of us have to pretend we're deal- ing with a civilized member of the community of na- tions. "Secondly, the inde- pendence of Lebanon in some real if imperfect sense is precisely the vital interest involved here for the U.S. and the West. The exact terms of the relationship between the Soviet Union and Syria aren't known. It's often claimed that Syria's ailing Assad is an unpre- dictable tyrant whose re- liability is never a sure thing for the Soviets. "There is no dispute, however, that Syria is now trying to extend its borders westward into Lebanon with Soviet-supplied arms. And it's surely evident from the Syrians' crude dictation of terms at the Lebanese peace talks in Geneva that the role seen in Damascus for Mr. Gemayel's gov- ••111•••••••••••••••••••••••• • ernment is that of a compla- cent satellite. • "What the success of • Syria's strategy would mean is that the Soviet CONTINUOUS CLEANING • Union's presence — on the TOAST 'N BROIL TOAST-R-OVEN@ • ground — would extend to the suburbs of Beirut. The • Low Soviets currently have • Price 7,000 troops in Syria. • • "This would threaten the Plus stability not only of what • $5 remained of Lebanon, but of • Jordan, Egypt and Saudi • Rebate • T 131B Arabia, which tend to define their own interests in terms of whether the wind is blow- ing harder from the east or the west. Arabists in the State Department are al- Or GEWe bring ready rolling out the line • good • things that the air strikes and the • tolife. recent U.S. agreement with • 7-4625 Israel will somehow force • Woodgrain finish • on polystyrene the 'moderate' Arab states to stand with Syria. An • FM/AM Electronic Digital Clock Radio Egyptian friend recently LADIES' admonished us to take care- full note when the Arab MEN'S position on a Middle East- no/ CHLOE-CHANE L • QUARTZ WATCHES OPIUM- ern development is silence. 4U /0 OFF • GUCCI The moderates are cur- • sugg. list HALSTON-NORELL rently silent. • "In any event, Syria TELEPHONE can hardly expect much • CROSS PENS ANSWERING from Jor- MACHINES • fellow-feeling TV'S dan's King Hussein, who OFF • EUREKA VACS RADIOS • has apparently con- ELECTRIC • cluded that the Syrians WALKMANS TYPEWRITERS SHAVERS • are involved in a recent series of bombings in Amman and the October shootings of Jordanian LINCOLN TOWERS, SUITE 111 • ambassadors in New • • 15075 W. Lincoln (10 1/2 Mile) Delhi and Rome. • • "We share the general Mon. two Sat. 10-4 p.m. One Block East of Greenfield • sense of misgiving about the 411 411•ED 41 411•411 411 411 4D 411 ID 411 41 41 41 El 41 ID•ID 410 41 The Wall Street Journal looked at U.S. Lebanon pol- icy and the problems with Syria in an editorial on Dec. 6 entitled "Dealing With Syria": "Now that U.S. jets have pounded Syrian positions in Lebanon, we can expect a torrent of questions and analysis about the U.S.'s political goals and military tactics in the Middle East. That's fine, so long as all the talk takes place against the lack of clarity in U.S. policy toward Lebanon and the quality of our military tac- tics there. Moreover, photo- graphs of U.S. airmen in Sy- rian captivity resurrect the modern American sensitiv- ity to images of POWs. But most Americans will sup- port a military intervention if it is shown to be on behalf of our interests .. . "The Administration could shore up that support by more effectively and explicitly making its case for preventing Syria's Soviet-supported strategy of destruction and domi- nance in the Middle East. President Reagan's an- nounced policy of respond- ing to Syria's militarists in the only language they understand is an appropri- ate first step in building that case." • • so • • 40°,/ o "F • 40% 569-6930 BUMPING & PAINTING All work guaranteed Free Estimates Reliable and Experienced since 1930 on all makes of cars 28829 Orchard Lake Rd., between 12 & 13 Mile Farmington Hills, MI. 48018 Max Fleischer • • • • • • • • • • • • • COLOGNE • • OSCAR BRAUN'S: • osms Uptown • Southfield Rd. at I Mile • 559-3900 Ala & Tall • Southfield at II Mile Sale • • • • SONY • • "Where Fit is Foremost" BODY SE114114 'E • • _ _ _ • • • SEIKO 1K. 553.7111 1 • • BIG DISCOUNTS Friday, December 16, 1983 5 "Every Del Monte® canned fruit and vegetable has now been certified kosher. 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