Before we can discuss the outbreak of war between Israel and the PLO in Lebanon, we must lay out the political context. As Yasser Arafat and his Palestinian liberation army were massing troops along the border, and the city of Kiryat Shemona was facing bombardment, Prime Minister Menachem Begin visited US President Ronald Reagan in Washington to solidify a US-Israel relationship – a goal made more complicated by Reagan’s cabinet. American envoy to the Middle East Philip Habib will fight to keep the border from boiling over, but his efforts will come to an end with the assassination attempt against Israeli ambassador Shlomo Argov in 1982.
