Syria’s Risky Game

Israel withdrew the last of its occupying army from southern Lebanon 10 weeks ago, but the Beirut government continues to ignore its responsibility to take charge of security throughout the area. Last week it finally sent about a thousand soldiers and policemen into the south, but none were deployed along the border with Israel. That has angered the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, the international force that for more than two decades has tried with small success to keep peace between the two countries. When the Security Council voted in July to extend UNIFIL’s life for six months, it called on Lebanon to deploy its forces throughout the south. By failing to do so, Beirut assures that the border region will remain tense and volatile.

The Lebanese interior minister says the primary mission of the troops sent south is to prevent fighting between Muslims and Christians. “The border is not our concern at this stage.” But Beirut doesn’t want it to become UNIFIL’s concern either, and it has told the U.N. soldiers to stay away from crossing points on the Lebanon-Israel border. That assures that these key sites will stay under the control of Hezbollah, the uncompromisingly anti-Israel Shiite Muslim force whose years of guerrilla warfare ultimately forced Israel out of Lebanon. Hezbollah has kept open the possibility of renewed warfare with Israel, this time on Israeli territory.

Beirut takes its orders from Syria, which keeps 30,000 troops stationed in Lebanon. Syria’s strategic goal is to get back the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 war. Under its late President Hafez Assad, Syria could not bring itself to accept a U.S.-backed deal that would have seen Israel give up the Golan in exchange for full peace and normal relations. Syria’s game now is to keep conditions along the Lebanon-Israel border ambiguous and threatening, using Hezbollah as its surrogate to pressure Israel on the Golan issue.

This is a risky game, and the risk will grow if UNIFIL, which can at least monitor who does what along the border, quits Lebanon early next year. Israel has pursued a foolish and costly policy in Lebanon that brought it no real security. But however burned it may have been, the Israeli government now seems certain to strike back hard if its northern region comes under attack. Syria and Lebanon would be likely targets. The best way to prevent a new conflict is by keeping the Lebanon-Israel border quiet. That can happen if Syria wants it.