Middle East: Menachem, Shalom

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In reply, Sharon said that he had merely been trying to protect the lives of Israeli soldiers. To that retort, Begin snapped, "You are no more responsible for the lives of the soldiers than anyone else around this table." Sharon continued to argue that the Israeli forces must improve their military positions in Beirut before any evacuation of the P.L.O. could begin, but this time his colleagues were having none of it. "What is the point of these bombings?" demanded Begin. "To put [political] gains at risk?" When Sharon became testy, Begin told him, "Don't raise your voice. You should know who is conducting things here. You should remember that the government is the commander of the army."

Later, summing up, Begin told his Cabinet: "I don't like the idea that in an hour or two from now, I'll get a message from President Reagan saying he insists that we stop the air strikes and military movements in Beirut. I don't want anyone in the U.S. to think that we have a government that cannot control the conduct of the war . . . I recommend a cessation of all military activity in the Beirut area, because these activities are of no effect. If we are talking about the future, we shall see. We can always change our policy."

In the ensuing vote on the changes Sharon had requested, the Defense Minister lost, 17 to 2. His only supporter: Science Minister Yuval Ne'eman, a member of the right-wing Tehiya Party. The Cabinet then passed another resolution specifying that there should be no more air strikes against Beirut unless authorized either by the Prime Minister or by the Cabinet in special session. Roundly defeated, Sharon observed stiffly, "I did what I had to do. I accept the Cabinet's will."

Just over an hour later, almost precisely as Begin had predicted, President Reagan called to express his sense of outrage over the renewed assault on Beirut, and Begin was able to tell him that the bombing had already been ordered stopped. Afterward, Begin double-checked with Israeli Chief of Staff Lieut. General Rafael Eitan to make sure that the order had been carried out. Then he called Reagan back and told him so. The President was notably relieved. He had been saddened and angered by the persistent bombardment of Beirut and by the resulting damage to U.S. prestige. As a White House official put it later, "The Lebanese were blaming us directly, not just the Israelis, for this wanton destruction. They felt that it could lead to a total breakdown in the negotiations."

The President was also eager for a foreign-policy accomplishment of a high order, and he did not want his hopes to be dashed by an ill-conceived military action. Only two days earlier, after Negotiator Habib had flown to Jerusalem and secured Israel's basic support of the eight-page plan, White House Spokesman Larry Speakes had declared enthusiastically that "the momentum of the peace process continues to build."

The elaborate scheme covers the evacuation of P.L.O. fighting men and some 1,500 Syrian soldiers from West Beirut over a 15-day period. It specifies that a force of 200 to 300 French soldiers would enter West