Foreign Minister Abdel Halim Khaddam of Syria called today for international and Arab action against what he called America’s aggressive policy in Lebanon and the Middle East.
His appeals followed United States air raids against Syrian Army positions in the central mountains of Lebanon today, but before the shelling in which eight marines were killed in Beirut and American warships responded with shelling.
The Syrian minister did not mention the number of American planes shot down. Earlier today a Syrian military spokesman said Syria shot down three United States aircraft and captured one of the pilots.
Mr. Khaddam’s appeal was made in messages to the United Nations Secretary General, Javier Perez de Cuellar, the Arab League Secretary General, Chedli Klibi, the Islamic Conference Organization Secretary General, Habib Chatti, and the Indian Foreign Minister, P. V. Narasimha Rao, who is chairman of the group of nations professing nonalignment. ‘Escalatory Military Move’
”I am sending these messages and urging you to undertake necessary measures to stop the aggressive policy of the United States in Lebanon and the Middle East,” the official Syrian press agency Sana quoted Mr. Khaddam as having said.
Referring to today’s raids, Mr. Khaddam said: ”In an escalatory military move, U.S. aircraft today hit our positions in the northern Metn area in Lebanon. Two soldiers were killed and 10 wounded.
”These aggressive actions uncover the United States political aims in the region, its plots and the role of its forces in Lebanon and the Mediterranean.”
Accusing Washington of trying to undermine the sovereignty of his country, Mr. Khaddam said: ”The United States aims at undermining the sovereignty and independence of countries in the region, thus bypassing the U.N. Charter and its responsibilities towards peace and stability as a permanent member of the U.N. body. Today’s raid, which uncovers the nature of the joint Israeli-American moves reached during Yitzhak Shamir’s recent trip to Washington is a dangerous development and will only cause more complications.” The Syrian minister’s statement was quickly followed by a commentary on the state-controlled Damascus radio that asked, ”When are you Arabs going to wake up to the fact that the United States is the main enemy and that Israel is nothing more than a forward garrison of the Pentagon?” The commentary continued: ”How will the Arab governments friendly to the United States now justify their friendship? Time has come for the Arabs to forge a minimum of solidarity to stand up to the American-Israel alliance.”
