European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 8, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Israeli cavalrymen ride atop their armoured personnel carriers As they leave one of their base a photo israeli exit from lebanese swamp from press dispatches three years of War and occupation in Lebanon have divided the jewish nation and tarnished israels image As an almost invincible military Power in the we entered Lebanon As a magnificent Force which struck fear into the and look How we Are said a regimental commander discussing prob lems of morale at the Start of the they sent us in with chess pieces but pinned us to a backgammon the prime minister Menachem begin and former defense minister Ariel Sharon launched the War on june to crush the Palestine liberation organization and to create a stable government in but the goals were left and the War was one of the costliest in the nations history 654 israelis were wounded and about million a Day was spent on sustaining the army in Lebanon at a time of growing economic crisis Back perhaps the greatest toll was inflicted on the National a Strong Antiwar movement developed for the first time in a nation where the governments Call to arms traditionally was accepted without question As a duty and some 130 israeli soldiers chose jail rather than go to Lebanon and thousands More tried to avoid Reserve duty by offering a variety of there was always a widespread National consensus on issues of War and peace even though Israel was a new society with a Large number of said Chaim a professor of sociology at hebrew University in the effect of the Lebanon War has been to Widen cleavages in society and aggravate the differences so that both sides now Call each other after More than of almost daily reports about dead and few israelis seemed to oppose the Cowkey exit from what they Call the Leb anese returning to Israel after 17 months of research in the United Zeev the military analyst of the respected newspaper said he was appalled and pained by the new israeli you see the change first of All in the eyes of the Schiff its the look that reminded me of the american soldiers i saw in the final stages in it was the look of soldiers and officers who knew that their chances of winning in Lebanon were less than i saw a frustrated army in what the people who initiated this War have done to the Israel defense forces is said despite the he said he believes the israeli army is still the Best army in the a spate of israeli articles has examined the lebanese syndrome or what some israeli writers have called the be canonization of the israeli the Magazine Kot Eret Roshit listed the including a disproportionate Reliance on marked by a habit of frequently calling in air strikes and Artil Israel has launched 24 air raids on Lebanon n the past eighteen a radicalization among with some adopt ing the ant Arab views of jewish defense league founder rabbi Meir Kahane and others embracing dovish a Lack of support at Home for the an erosion of the israeli army purity of arms values and the beginning of a trigger Finger Ari Shavit of Kot Eret Rashit put the question to a nation whose defense is based on a civilian Reserve army has the nation withdrawn from the if prime minister Shimon Peres has tried to end israels involvement in Lebanon without rekindling bitter and divisive but leftists demanded a commission be set up to apportion blame for the War started under the right Wing and rightists staged angry protests Over the governments decision to free arabs for the last three israeli War a move Peres had hoped would help close the Lebanon the primary objective of the operation the govern ment called peace for Galilee was to ensure the end of rocket and shelling attacks on israels Northern Bor Der which disrupted the Economy and forced thousands to flee their the Border area is but residents doubt the Calm will last and have refurbished their bomb shelters in expectation of renewed israeli attempts to create a stable government in Leb anon collapsed with the dwindling fortunes of the Chris israels traditional allies in the Plo remains a political and military Factor in the Region even though the guerrilla army was uprooted fro South Lebanon and a split developed Between Yasser Arafat and Syria backed much of the internal debate about israels failure in Lebanon has focused on who was forced to resign As defense minister after a commis Sion of inquiry held him indirectly responsible for fail ing to prevent Christian militiamen from massacring palestinians in september Sharon conceded that the wars Aims were unrealized israeli peace protestors in March called on the government to pull out of but said there had been some such As three years of quiet on israels Northern he rejected charges that he had misled the government into a broader conflict than the Cabinet who had hoped the invasion would Lead to a peace treaty with resigned and went into seclusion in associates said one of the reasons begin quit politics was remorse Over the ambassador to Israel Samuel Lewis told reporters that the Lebanon War had delayed efforts to restart Arab israeli peace damaged relations and weakened the International standing of both in four wars with neighbouring Arab the Israel defense forces if As the country military is called officially established a reputation As being almost this was credited with helping keep the nations enemies at before the few arabs doubted israels Mili tary prowess or its readiness to use Force in As a israeli warnings had a restraining influence on Syrias army As Well As on palestinian guerrillas and lebanese once the occupation israels army faced an escalating guerrilla Campaign in the these attacks claimed More than half the casualties suffered in the War and fuelled the divisive debate Back the guerrilla Campaign was led by shiite moslem in South who initially supported israels ouster of the by the fall of they apparently became convinced that like the United did not have the will to stay the course in they saw a major roles in conflict United press International Many of the main actors involved at the beginning of israels involve ment in Lebanon still play major others have stepped or been yanked this is a list of the 10 most and where they Are Menachem begin As prime begin launched operation peace for the invasion of in june he vowed the Palestine liberation organization would be Lebanon would sign a peace treaty with Israel and the israeli army would redeem itself from the yom kippur War of when it was surprised and suffered traumatic initial broken in retired in september 1983 and has been in seclusion Ariel Sharon As defense planned and executed the forced to resign because of the massacre of palestinians at Sabra and shatila refugee Camps by the Christian which was Allied with Sharon stayed on As minister without he sued time Magazine for million for saying he encouraged the time was found guilty of but Sharon did not win the Case for libel or he is now Trade and Industry Rafael Eitan As israels rugged chief of staff and Veteran of All israels five previous led the Israel defense forces if As Israel Calls its armed forces into Lebanon and All the Way to after finishing his five year term As chief of he entered politics and is now a Knesset member from the Techira Shlomo Argov then israels ambassador to the court of James in Argov was shot and severely wounded in an assassination attempt in june the incident that sparked the says the War should not have been once a rising Star in the israeli diplomatic he is still undergoing therapy at Haddassah Hospital in Arafat Leader of the he was expelled from Beirut in August 1982 and set up his Headquarters in he later returned to Tripoli to Lead the Battle against Plo rebels and was expelled from that Northern lebanese City As still the chairman of the he remains a political Chance to assert their Power in the lebanese political scene by driving out the occupying defense minister Yitzhak Rabin recently said on Gale the Israel army that the main lesson is that we should not put the army into this sort of War he Rabin and other israeli leaders have warned that any attacks on its Border after the withdrawal will be met with overwhelming Force that is Likely to include air raids and artillery the question is whether Israel can regain enough credibility to deter Arab extremists from launching a War of attrition across israels Northern Border or a new Resis Tance Campaign in the Israel occupied West the drawn out humiliation of Lebanon is widely thought to have created a generation of soldiers and civilians who have lost Faith in the value of fighting and who Are less willing to put their Energy into military for me and my generation there was the cd Mcclation that if we and if we were our children would not have to said David head of the israeli air we did not obviously it was impossible to this has tired not All military men Are As pessimistic about the Long term prospects for the one israeli military while admitting the drop in does not Sec it As getting the army out of Lebanon is one get Ting Lebanon out of the that will take a couple of a photo israeli defense minister Yitzhak Rabin Mohammed Saad the Leader of the shiite moslem resistance in Southern Lebanon and Mastermind of the guerrilla attacks against the israeli including the 1983 suicide bombing that killed More than 60 persons at the israeli military Headquarters at Saad was killed in an explosion in a moslem religious Center in Marchi shiites claimed the blast was set by israeli Bashir Gemayel the head of the christians in Leb anon and israels main ally in the became president in August he was assassinated on two Days angered Christian phalanges forces entered the Sabra and shatila Camps and Mas sacred Amin Gemayel brother of he assumed the presidency after his Brothers less oriented to Israel and More to abrogated the May troop withdrawal quasi treaty with he remains president Nabih Berri lebanese Leader of the shiite amal who waged a guerrilla War against the israeli army in Southern Lebanon after it routed Plo guerrillas from the Berri is now minister for Southern Lebanon in the Leb anese Yitzhak Rabin was prime minister before defense minister in the National coalition govern ment that took office nine months he is the architect of the israeli Page 14 the stars and stripes june the stars and stripes Page 15