The United States and Israel at the beginning of the ‘War of others’ in Lebanon

The Lebanese civil war (1975–1990) went down in the history of international relations as one of the most intense and protracted internal conflicts in the Middle East in the XX century. One of distinguishing features of this conflict and a key reason behind its duration, was a high level of interest and involvement of different global and regional actors. This paper examines the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the political dynamics in Lebanon in the 1970s, particularly, the ramifications of a massive inflow of the Palestinian refugees, which threatened to undermine a fragile ethnic and religious balance in the country. The author emphasizes that Syria and Israel were directly and indirectly involved in the civil war in Lebanon virtually since the beginning of hostilities, adding an international dimension to this conflict. The author examines these events through the lens of the U.S.-Israeli relations, which were also rather ambiguous at the time. Drawing on the U.S. and Israeli official sources as well as on recently published archival records, this paper studies both the United States’ and Israel’s stance at the beginning of the civil war in the Country of Cedar. Although the conclusion of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty remained the top priority for the U.S. and Israeli policymakers, the Lebanese civil war made them consider the possibility of intervening militarily in another Middle East conflict with unforeseeable consequences for themselves and the region as a whole. Israel’s response to that challenge took the form of the Operation Litani of 1978.