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The Reagan Administration went to considerable lengths to assure both Congress and the American public that U.S. troops were in no real danger. Reagan explained that the Marines would play "a crucial role in achieving the peace that is so desperately needed in this long-tortured city." The President alluded to the fact that, 24 years ago, a force of 14,000 Marines had been sent to Lebanon by Dwight Eisenhower to support a beleaguered government, and that they had suffered a few casualties. This time, declared the President, "I want to emphasize that there is no intention or expectation that U.S. armed forces will become involved in hostilities," except perhaps for what he called "isolated acts of violence." To the Marines involved in the mission, the President radioed a rousing message: "You are about to embark on a mission of great importance to our nation and the free world ... You are asked to be, once again, what Marines have been for more than 200 years: peacemakers."
By the end of the week, the President had reason to be pleased with the progress of the evacuation. To be sure, there were some hitches. The Israelis complained that, in violation of the agreement, the first group of P.L.O. evacuees had been allowed to take their jeeps with them. The Lebanese protested that the Israelis were objecting to the placement of French peace-keeping forces in central Beirut. More serious was the fighting between Syrian and Israeli forces near the Beirut-Damascus highway in central Lebanon. This caused the P.L.O. to postpone a withdrawal over that route.
To solve the problem, Envoy Habib flew to Tel Aviv for a talk with Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, who has directed the Israeli military operation in Lebanon. At the meeting, Sharon, who refuses to describe the removal of the P.L.O. guerrillas from West Beirut as an "evacuation," asked Habib bluntly, "How is the expulsion going?" Replied Habib: "The evacuation is proceeding according to plan." Habib then asked Sharon to make sure that the
Israeli and Christian forces allow the P.L.O. convoys to pass safely along the highway to Damascus. As a result of the meeting, the overland evacuation of the P.L.O. to Syria began on Friday when a convoy of trucks carrying celebrating guerrillas made the 70-mile trip to the outskirts of the Syrian capital.
For the departing Palestinians, it was a time of brave words and wrenching farewells. In hundreds of cases, men left for unknown destinations, leaving wives and families behind. P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat called the long siege of Beirut and the evacuation "a victory for the resistance." The P.L.O. did manage to sustain the sense of an honorable retreat, with flags flying and the endless cannonades and thunderous volleys of rockets. The departing guerrillas and the friends who saw them off fired their automatic rifles and machine guns so furiously that a U.S. Marine said he felt as though he were on a firing range. Stray bullets killed 17 and wounded at least 42 more.