MIDDLE EAST: The White Hats Arrive

In a short-lived spirit of celebration, Lebanese gunmen fired volleys of shot into the air instead of each other last week. With cheers and a flash of "V" signs, they welcomed a convoy of more than 50 freshly whitewashed trucks as it rumbled into Beirut's airport. Carrying a peace-keeping force of some 1,000 white-helmeted Arab League troops, the convoy was a signal for the withdrawal of an equal number of Syrian soldiers, who had been shelling leftist-Palestinian strongholds in Beirut since the Syrians took over the airport three weeks ago. Half of...

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