Habib as Reagan's rep reported to Haig, who blessed Sharon's plan is perhaps a gross paraphrase of the John Boykin writing, but it appears to me to be what he is saying - which, given the Boykin comment about a Sharon/Haig understanding (or misunderstanding as the case may be), seems to make "betrayed his word" depend on Haig - not Habib - saying so. But the "I thought they were only going after terrorists in the camps" is indeed a statement Sharon did say.
The Kahane Commission, and even more so the BBC program "Panorama", came down hard on Sharon. Even granted that the BBC anti-Israel slant is well documented, the Panorama program (which is the BBC's flagship television current affairs program and one I like a great deal and trust as to specific facts) found little good in Sharon's non-actions to protect civilians.
The Kahane Commission that Boykin mentions found that there was "no conspiracy" by the Israelis to perpetrate the massacre, but did find that Sharon "disregarded the danger of acts of vengeance and bloodshed by the Phalangists against the population of the refugee camps. He failed to take this danger into account when he decided to have the Phalangists enter the camps." He failed to order "appropriate measures for preventing or reducing the danger of massacre as a condition for the Phalangist entry into the camps." - and, as Borkin notes, this violates the civilian protection idea - which most countries have violated since it was put forth beginning with the Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague, II), July 29, 1899, and indeed most countries today violate it's latest affirmations in UN resolutions and proposed treaties. It will be nice when real International Law exists, with international enforcement, that is more robust that a UN "war crimes indictment" and a possible UN Criminal Court trial - or the possibility of a Belgian court claiming jurisdiction over the activities of the world and investigating based on the Belgian law incorporating the Geneva conventions.
In any case "indirectly responsible for the massacre and demoted him" refers to the removal of Sharon as defense minister and a ruling that he was unfit to ever hold that post. I wonder if a Muslim court will ever rule on civilian population deaths that are Israeli deaths, and take similiar action.
In any case, I wonder how one gets from seeing the Christian Phalangists as Allies of Israel during the 80's invasion - and that, given the PLO massacre of Christian city of Damour and other evil was a given before the invasion - to seeing the Christian Phalangists as "Israel's proxy army" - a term that implies command and control.
As to the recent bombing of the Lebanese army barracks
http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php being a reason they have not tried to control Hez, you are of course speaking "tongue in cheek" - but one wonders how the Shia in the Army will react if ever called upon by their leaders to control the south of Lebanon.
By the way - thanks for an interesting discussion :-)
peace :-)