ABSTRACT
In Lebanon, as in Cyprus, the primary concern about anticipated role of protecting the civilian population was that it might involve the UN force in the morass of internal security. The same concern applies to any international peacekeeping effort. If the broader purpose of the peacekeepers in Lebanon would be to help the government assert its sovereignty, then, functionally, this may well require a more relaxed interpretation of their operational role in helping to maintain civil order. The prime inducement for Syria to negotiate seriously on troop withdrawal and to refrain from interfering with efforts at political compromise in Beirut was the prospect of hastening the departure of the American force. The French would be key, given their historical and emotional ties to Lebanon and their readiness to play an activist peacekeeping role in Lebanon. Influential academics and politicians associated with Labor alignment saw disengagement as part of any broader agreement to stabilize Lebanon and reduce Israel’s costly involvement there.
