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However that may be, the Reagan Administration reacted to the latest incident with open anger. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger declared that the Israeli move had been "threatening" and that there was "no authority or necessity" for it. In a news conference, President Reagan defended Johnson's action, saying he thought the Marine had done "the only thing he could." Pentagon officials flatly disputed Israel's contention that the Israeli tanks were not in Marine territory. Furthermore, the officials maintained, the behavior of the tanks had been belligerent and provocative. Belying Israeli insistence that the tanks had been on a "routine patrol," Pentagon officials added, was the fact that a group of Israelis with binoculars had taken up a position on a nearby hill in order to watch the events unfold.
The Israeli government blamed the whole affair on a misunderstanding on the part of the Marines. The Israelis produced Lieut. Colonel Rafi, who scoffed at the Marines' behavior. When Johnson drew his pistol, said Rafi, it "rather amused me." Privately, the Israelis were angry at Washington, and particularly at Weinberger, for reacting so sharply to the incident; an aide to Prime Minister Menachem Begin said the U.S. response was "shocking and ridiculous." A day later, American and Israeli diplomats met in Beirut and agreed to build a formal boundary around some Marine positions in the hope of keeping the two forces apart.
The real problem is that patience is running out on all sides. The U.S. wants a withdrawal of Israeli, Syrian and Palestinian forces from Lebanon, but the Israeli-Lebanese negotiations remain at an impasse. U.S. Special Envoy Philip Habib returns to the Middle East this week, though it is uncertain whether he will fare any better this time than he did on his last trip three weeks ago. The Reagan Administration still hopes that King Hussein of Jordan can be induced to join Egypt, Israel and the U.S. in seeking a negotiated settlement to the problem of the Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. But if the U.S. cannot get the Israelis out of Lebanon, or at least get them started in that direction, the U.S. will never get Hussein or any other Arabs to the bargaining table.
In Israel, the conclusions of the commission of inquiry that investigated the Beirut massacre last September were expected to be released this week. If the report is critical of Begin, he may call new elections this year. Israel's President Yitzhak Navon, 61, announced last week that he will not seek another five-year term when the present one expires in May. That could thrust Navon into a three-way race, along with Opposition Leader Shimon Peres and former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, for leadership of the Labor Party. Recent polls show Navon would have a better chance than either Peres or Rabin of leading the party to victory against Begin.