Cosgrach
12-11-2004, 18:20
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6464537/
In the mid-1970s, Arafat's PLO was a source of concern in Lebanon, where it had taken refuge after fleeing Jordan. Hafez Assad, the Syrian president, sent thousands of troops into Lebanon in 1976 at the request of the allied Christian government to put down the PLO, a clash that helped fuel what would be a nearly 15-year civil war. Bashar Assad, who became president on his father's death in 2000, had not sent a message of condolence hours after Arafat's death was announced.
In the mid-1970s, Arafat's PLO was a source of concern in Lebanon, where it had taken refuge after fleeing Jordan. Hafez Assad, the Syrian president, sent thousands of troops into Lebanon in 1976 at the request of the allied Christian government to put down the PLO, a clash that helped fuel what would be a nearly 15-year civil war. Bashar Assad, who became president on his father's death in 2000, had not sent a message of condolence hours after Arafat's death was announced.