Spheres of Intervention

James R. Stocker is Associate Professor of Global Affairs at Trinity Washington University.

Introduction: "This Is the American Policy" US Interests in Lebanon Causes of the Lebanese Civil War The Course of the Conflict, 1975-76 1. Sparks in the Tinderbox: The United States, the June War, and the Remaking of the Lebanese Crisis Lebanese Domestic Tensions on the Eve of the June War The United States and Lebanon in the 1960s Lebanon's Six Day War Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot The Beirut Airport Raid 2. Compromise in Cairo: The Nixon Administration and the Cairo Agreement "Trying to Be Helpful" The August Attacks and the Rogers Plan October Crisis and the Cairo Agreement 3. From Cairo to Amman: The United States and Lebanese Internal Security Post-Cairo US Assistance to Lebanon Implementing the Cairo Agreement The Kahhale Ambush and the Exodus from the South Causes of the Calm 4. Plus ca change: International Terrorism, Detente, and the May 1973 Crisis The New International Terrorism A New Request for Support The Israeli Raid on Beirut and the May Crisis The Aftermath 5. Reckoning Postponed: From the October War to the Civil War The October War and the Start of Negotiations Lebanese Domestic Politics after the October War Diplomacy on the Rocks 6. Disturbing Potential: The United States and the Renewed Conflict The Outbreak of Conflict The Military Cabinet and Syrian Mediation Sinai II and the Resumption of Violence in Lebanon The January Cease-Fire 7. Reluctant Interveners: The Red Line Agreement and Brown's Mediation The Constitutional Document and Shifting Alignments The Non-Negotiation of the Red Line The Brown Mission and the PLO From Election to Intervention 8. Taking Its Course: The Syrian Intervention and Its Limits Reacting to the Syrian Intervention Assassinations and Evacuations The New US-Syrian Dialogue The Second Syrian Military Offensive and the End of the Conflict Red Line Redux? Epilogue: The Cycle Continues

"This valuable work provides a highly detailed review of the American diplomatic record and lays important groundwork for future scholars to expand upon, especially those who will put Stocker's revelations into greater conversation with Middle Eastern sources. Additionally, Stocker's assessment that perceptions about American action, even when not exercised, influenced decision making provides a useful framework for scholars of US international relations." - The Journal of American History "Stocker weaves in leading policy-makers' discussions and decisions with regional and international dynamics to shed light on how the United States viewed events in Lebanon in general, and the Lebanese government in particular. Clearly uncovers what has been argued all along by Lebanese academics and policymakers, namely, that Lebanon has never been left alone to make its own decisions freely." - Perspectives on Politics