Foreign Minister Abdel Halim Khaddam flew to New York Tuesday night and addressed the General Assembly this morning.
He made only a fleeting reference to the cease-fire and devoted much of his speech to a bitter denunciation of the United States and the other Western countries with military forces in Lebanon.
Mr. Khaddam said this Western force must withdraw from Lebanon because it poses ”a grave threat to security and peace in the region.
” He said the American, British, French and Italian contingents ”remind us of the colonialist expeditions through previous stages of the history of the region.
” He also said the United States was trying to bring about the ”Vietnamization” process in Lebanon.
”We caution the American administration that the military involvement in the Middle East will not be less worse for it than its involvement in Vietnam,” he said.
Mr. Khaddam’s speech drew a rather mild response from American officials.
John Hughes, the State Department’s spokesman, said the Western forces were in Lebanon at the request of the Lebanese Government, and he denied any of the aggressive aims suggested by Mr. Khaddam.
Secretary of State George P. Shultz is scheduled to meet with Mr. Khaddam on Friday in an effort to persuade the Syrians to take a more forthcoming approach toward the use of United Nations observers in Lebanon.
Mr. Shultz met this morning with Foreign Minister Giulio Andreotti of Italy and they agreed again that they had to try to change the Syrian point of view.
Syrian approval is viewed as crucial by the Lebanese, United Nations and Western diplomats because the Syrians are said to have virtual operational control over the Druse and Shiite militias that were engaged in sharp conflict with the Lebanese Army before the latest cease-fire took effect.