"The time has come. We can preserve our security and bring our boys home." So said Prime Minister Shimon Peres last week as he prepared for a test of strength within Israel's national unity government. Hours later Peres was triumphant, and Israel was embarked on a dramatic change of military course. By a 16-to-6 count, the Cabinet voted in favor of a unilateral, step-by-step withdrawal of an estimated 22,000 Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, with the first phase to get under way within five weeks. Other stages in the planned three-phase pullback will occur at Cabinet discretion, but the decision left...
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