I COULD hardly believe my eves when reading your coverage war Lebanon (Socialist Challenge, August).
It is leftist nonsense suggest that is wrong, unprincipled, and shamefui capitulation for the PLO withdraw Beirut In the face overwhelming odds.
he last few have shown beyond doubt that prepared to make an all-out bloody assault on West Beirut if necessary writer Ros Kaplan CORATS) Arab states and the Soviet bureaucrats, for all their thetoric, have demonstrated that they any real the Palestinian fighters which could stop this happening. peace movement in Israel is still a small if vocal minority.
Of course the PLO leadership shares responsibility UNIS situation, having tended to preach reliance on the leadership the Arab states rather than linking up with and couraging the mobilisa. tions oppressed masses within them.
But to insist that the Palestinian fighters pay with their lives and remaining strength criminal response to this situation.
Orderly retreats are sometimes necessary when the ORES stacked against Take the example of the recent ASLEF strike. Was it necessarily wrong to call off the acwhen the alterwas destruction of the union by a British Rail-Tory. TUC alliance?
That doesn't mean that you remain silent the leadership failings which contributed to such a situa tion (e.g. ASLEF's previous instruction to their members to cross NUR picket lines). On tial to draw out the full for tuture political strategy and leadership. A retreat is only justified as means of preparing a new offensive Today that is what is the Middle SOSOE East. The choice of whether or West Beirut IS essentially tactical one. Those who imply otherwise do no service to the future of MARTIN METEYARD Glasgow