The following interview sought to answer questions over the expanded war, both in terms of time and dimensions, as well as the future of Lebanon and what could be achieved from the war. The Defense Minister explained that even though the cabinet did not order the I.D.F to enter Beirut, it was "unthinkable that the terrorists should be immune beyond the 40-45 km. line. " Therefore, he interpreted the order to destroy the terrorists infrastructure as meaning their headquarters as well. He did confirm that the cabinet knew in advance that the I.D.F. would advance beyond the 40-45 km limit, and that meant the entire cabinet and not a small group of a kitchen cabinet. Mr. Sharon also voiced his views on the future needs of Lebanon: It must have a strong central government, Lebanon will be re-established as an independent sovereign nation, "a potential future ally for Israel, " The newly reconstituted Lebanese government should then ask for the withdrawal of all foreign forces, including Israel. Text:
Q: People are wondering: Why did we have to go as far as the outskirts of Beirut? And when will this war finally end?
Mr. Sharon: The operation did not expand beyond the dimensions set for it. The government has fixed an objective -a security belt for Israel's borders, a strip of 40-45 km, which is the range of the terrorists' weapons. Together with this, the aim of the operation was to destroy the terrorist infrastructure and to destroy the organizations as far as possible. It is unthinkable that the terrorists should be immune beyond the 40-45 km. line. It is equally unthinkable that... if we come to a political settlement which gives Israel this security belt, the terrorists still on the other side of the belt might immediately re-infiltrate and operate. The cabinet resolution is still in effect; there has been no change. The government will insist that there be an appropriate arrangement whereby the terrorists will no longer be able to operate against Israel from within the 40-45 km. strip.
Q: But did we know ahead of time that the I.D.F. would advance beyond the 40-45 km limit?
Mr. Sharon: From a military point of view?
Q: Yes.
Mr. Sharon: Certainly. Matters were made clear during cabinet sessions. I would like to note that this is perhaps the first war in Israel's history in which the entire Cabinet - not the "kitchen", not the Ministerial Defense Committee - but rather, by the Prime Minister's decision, the entire Cabinet, accompanied by the Ministerial Defense Committee, was a daily partner in the decision-making process. Every day it was kept informed of the situation, goals were mapped out so as to determine what would be that day's moves. The Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, too, received almost daily reports from me personally. I think this is a first. There were no surprises here. We also had other problems. We did not want to fight Syria; we made every effort to avoid war with Syria. One way of trying to influence the Syrians not to take part in the war was to threaten them from the north, and indeed our strategy was based on this: threat from the north and erosion from the south. And as everyone knows from the course of the war, we attacked the Syrians only at the last stage of the war, and only after they had deceived us during Philip Habib's visit and introduced the missiles, or additional missiles, into Lebanese territory on that same day. So one objective was to destroy the terrorist infrastructure, and another was to threaten the Syrians from the north. But we have yet another objective. We have now finished a campaign, a very difficult campaign. I don't know if people in Israel appreciate just how difficult it was, appreciate the tremendous ability and effort demanded
of the I.D.F. soldiers in order to overcome the tangled web of difficulties they faced, the need to make a complete separation between a fighting population and one which was not fighting. In this matter, it seems to me, efforts were made which had never been made before. But now we are headed for a political process. This process will undoubtedly be difficult. There could be no better bargaining card in the political struggle which now faces Israel than our presence in the north, on the Beirut-Damascus Road.
Q: You say we have finished the war - a difficult war with many victims. But have we really finished this way?
Mr. Sharon: The main thrust of this war is finished. We have secured the 45 km deep strip [extending] from Israel's northern border, 45 km from every point on Israel's northern border; I would say we have not left even one point of this strip outside our control. But it should be recalled that in this area there were 20,000 armed terrorists organized in units, along with approximately another 40,000 armed irregulars. We are talking about scores of thousands of armed men. We ourselves, who knew a great deal about what was there, were surprised and astounded upon seeing the quantities of arms and equipment that were there. Is is conceivable even for a moment that, after having completed the main thrust, we should not concern ourselves with destroying terrorist squads, with looking for arsenals, with locating forces still at large in the area? There are still hundreds of armed terrorists, if not more, roaming at large. This activity will continue, but I would like to say that in any case we would have to remain there until a political settlement [is reached]. However, I wish to point out that I have given orders to begin demobilizing reservists, and we will start demobilizing them.
Q: When?
Mr. Sharon: I would say that those reservists who are needed and vital (in Israel's civilian economy - ed.) are already being demobilized, we have already started demobilizing them. In the coming days reservists will begin to be demobilized in an orderly fashion, in entire units. We will reduce our forces. But we must all remember one thing: We have been in a very difficult, very complex campaign. It is unthinkable that Israel's people, after all the sacrifices they have made, after all the effort invested, would be incapable of showing that same patience which is necessary so as not to lose the fruit of our military victories in the political negotiations.
Q: In your meetings with Lebanese Christian leaders, did you perceive any readiness to set up a new political order in Lebanon which will suit Israel?
Mr. Sharon: We are not interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs. My visit to Beirut last night was not for such a purpose; my visit was to see our forces, as I did during all the days of the operation. I also went to make sure that the approaches to Beirut were closed off, though I have complete faith and confidence in the I.D.F. - which, by the way, did tremendous work in this operation involving several branches of our forces, one of the most complicated ever; from the Chief of Staff down to the very least of our soldiers, they should be praised for their tremendous effort.
Now I would like to return to your main question. We have no reason to interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs. It is up to Lebanon to decide how it wants to conduct its affairs. So I did not go there to negotiate. I think that the Lebanese Government has an opportunity - and we already see some sort of political change, though I don't know if this political change will solve anything, perhaps a process will be started - the Lebanese in my opinion have a rare opportunity to re-establish their independence. We have no interest in even one centimeter of Lebanese soil. The wisest move that the Lebanese Government could make, in my opinion, would be to demand that all foreign armies -including the terrorist organizations (which I would not define as an army), the Syrian army and the I.D.F. - to demand that all of them leave Lebanon, so that Lebanon may be re-established as an independent, sovereign nation. I think that the importance to the free world of such a nation in the Middle East - [and] as a potential future ally for Israel - is great.
Q: How do you see Lebanon a year from now?
Mr. Sharon: In my opinion this very much depends on political developments in Lebanon. The question is: Will the Lebanese have the ability to organize themselves politically in accordance with the Lebanese constitution, which has fixed arrangements - there are Christians, Shiites, Sunni and Druze and there is some sort of ordering among them -will they really be able to organize themselves politically and establish their army? All this depends on one thing, which is the absence of the Syrian and terrorist presence inside Lebanon. So long as there are Syrians in Beirut, so long as there are terrorists in Lebanon, I don't think Lebanon will re-establish itself. Lebanon has an opportunity at present, I think, to reach a situation whereby all foreign forces will leave and an independent government will indeed be established.
Q: Does "all foreign forces" include Israel?
Mr. Sharon: Yes. I say it includes Israel, because from the start we have had no interest in staying in Lebanon. We want to be there as short a time as possible. We subscribe to the [principle of the] territorial integrity of Lebanon.