A Sadly Deteriorating Relationship

Conflicting goals continue to strain U.S.-Israeli ties

Israel's preoccupation with its domestic maelstrom has momentarily turned attention away from another topic that has been consuming the country's passions and energy: the ever growing rift between Jerusalem and Washington. U.S. Special Envoy Philip Habib discovered for himself last week just how absorbed Prime Minister Menachem Begin was in his own troubles. When the peripatetic troubleshooter showed up in Israel to discuss a new U.S. plan for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon, Begin found only 45 minutes for him. Said an Israeli official:...

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