The Renegade Militia Major

The negotiations on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon hinged to a large degree on a former Lebanese army major who was dishonorably discharged four years ago for desertion. The commander of a largely Christian militia in southern Lebanon, variously estimated at 1,000 to 2,000 men. Major Saad Haddad, 45, has controlled a ten-mile-wide strip along the Israeli border since 1978. He has provided a foothold in Lebanon for Israel, which has not only trained and equipped his forces but also paid him $12,000 a year to keep the territory free of Palestinian guerrillas seeking to attack Israel.

Haddad calls the territory "Free Lebanon." To most people, however, the area is known as "Haddadland." With Israeli backing, Haddad established the border enclave to thwart deployment of United Nations peace-keeping forces and regular Lebanese army units. Last February, he announced that he was extending his control over the entire 28-mile-wide zone that Israel has said is essential to its security. This part of Lebanon has 600,000 residents, who are predominantly Shi'ite Muslims. But it also includes a substantial number of Christians, Sunni and Druze Muslims, as well as some 200,000 Palestinians.

Haddad has run his territory like a personal fiefdom. His radio station, the Voice of Hope, financed largely by right-wing American Christians, broadcasts to a wide area in English, Arabic and even Russian. Usually wearing green fatigues and carrying a 9-mm Beretta pistol slung from his belt, Haddad operates from his heavily guarded home in the village of Marjayoun. In an interview with TIME Correspondents Marsh Clark and David Halevy last week, Haddad insisted that he was the only person who could guarantee peace in the region. Referring to himself, as he often does, in the third person, he said: "If Major Haddad and his troops leave here, there would be butchery the next day. If I stay here, I can control the area." Haddad denied that he was a front for Israel. Said he: "My area is the only one in the country where there is no fighting. I'm not talking for Israel. I'm talking for hundreds of thousands of Lebanese."

Yet Haddad's control is far from complete. There are a number of other armed groups as well, including the paramilitary Shi'ite organization Amal, which is Haddad's main rival. Hundreds of other Christian militiamen, some attached to the Phalangist-dominated Lebanese Forces, have also moved into the south. The chief victims of the resulting violence have been Palestinian refugees, who were left defenseless by the departure of the Palestine Liberation Organization last August. Last week alone, masked gunmen killed six Palestinians near Sidon. Some 1,000 others have been forced at gunpoint to abandon their homes. Says a senior officer of the Lebanese Forces: "The Israelis' great mistake was not to disarm everybody in the south."

Haddad's continued rule is unacceptable to President Amin Gemayel's government because it is considered an affront to Lebanese sovereignty. Beirut's own efforts to impose authority over the south have been hampered not only by the inadequacy of the regular Lebanese army but by years of governmental neglect. Says a Western diplomat who knows the area: "Water, electricity, schools, roads or hospitals--the south has always got much less than its share." The Israelis have played on the feeling of resentment to develop sympathizers in the area. Part of the pitch used by an Israeli political officer in the region around Tyre goes like this: "Beirut is 60 miles away and has never cared for you. We are just across the border and we need your friendship." It is a sentiment that Haddad has been all too willing and able to reciprocate. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.