[SJackson]

Operation Salt Fish - Conclusion
U.S. Marines of the 32d Marine Amphibious Unit and legionnaires of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment form a joint security guard during the evacuation of the PLO from Beirut, Lebanon. Arafat was in the sights of at least five snipers at that point. The commander of the team radioed Raful Eitan and sought permission. Eitan delayed giving a response. The commander reiterated his request, warning Eitan that Arafat was going inside and would be out of their sight within seconds. Eitan held off for as long as he could, then finally replied:

[rdcbn1]

The Israelis are often their own worst enemy.

The situation they are facing now is the end of a chain with a lot of links of bad decisions.

Most of the bad decisions center on not making a decision to press their advantage and allowing politics to interfere with sound decision making.