July 7, 1983

The inability of Secretary of State George P. Shultz to make any apparent headway with President Hafez al-Assad of Syria on the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon leaves the country partitioned between Israel and Syria indefinitely, with the Lebanese Government's control limited to parts of Beirut. For the short run, State Department officials said, American efforts will probably be limited to what one official called ''damage control'' - maintaining contacts with Syria through the joint ''working groups'' agreed to by the Syrians today and trying to insure that Israel and Syria avoid a direct clash in the Bekaa, Lebanon's eastern valley, where their forces are virtually head to head. The lack of progress reported by Mr. Shultz has seemed to undercut American prestige in the region. The Lebanese and the Israelis, who both agreed to the terms for Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon at the urging of Mr. Shultz in May, are expressing concern privately and publicly over the American inability to obtain comparable results from the Syrians.

Connecticut officials said today that the entire Connecticut Turnpike bridge from which a 100-foot section fell last week might be unsafe. ''Inspections have revealed that the design of the hung-type girder sections of the bridge is considered 'suspect,' '' J. William Burns, the State Commissioner of Transportation, said in a statement. Mr. Burns was referring to the pin and hanger structures attaching the roadway to steel girders underneath. As a result of the findings, the state will install long steel rods connecting the remaining sections of the Mianus River bridge here to one another, according to William Keish Jr., director of communications for the State Transportation Department. Possible Delay in Reopening It was uncertain whether this would delay the bridge's reopening, originally planned for next week. Traffic delays, meanwhile, continued in the Connecticut and Westchester County area yesterday. Southbound cars and trucks backed up for half a mile before the detour from the turnpike, which as Interstate 95 is the major road link between New York and New England. In addition, jams plagued Route 1 in both directions through Port Chester, N.Y., and Greenwich.

''I was a Foreign Service officer for 16 years. The things I had to deal with were terrorism, civil wars and riots.

The Supreme Court ruled today that the Federal law against sex discrimination in employment prohibits employer-sponsored retirement plans that give men and women unequal benefits. But the Court said its ruling would affect only future pension contributions. By a vote of 5 to 4, the Court said the longer life of women as a group compared with men as a group does not permit insurance companies, as part of employer-sponsored retirement plans, to pay lower monthly annuity benefits to women. The ruling came on the last day of the Court's term.

The Big Three car makers reported today that their sales jumped 55.2 percent in the June 21-30 period, continuing a rebound that started in May. The increase in June's final selling period came in comparison with a weak period last year, when sales had slowed as rebates were phased out. Most of the nation's auto makers have been offering sales incentives since the start of this year, particularly below-market interest rates on auto loans, but analysts predicted that strong sales would continue now even without major sales incentives. ''It's now crystal clear the car makers have moved into a recovery phase,'' said John Hammond, an analyst at Data Resources Inc., a consulting firm in Lexington, Mass.