Word: damascus
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...picking a fight with Israel and provoking harsh military retribution felt by all of Lebanese society, Hizballah may be perversely trying to make a case for maintaining its army, given the clear inability of the Lebanese army to stand up to the Israelis. It also, ironically, eclipses even the Damascus-based leadership of Hamas by demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of its price for freeing Hizballah's Israeli captives...
...trained in the Bekaa Valley. But that relationship both enabled and restrained Hizballah, because Israeli or U.S. pressure on and incentives to Syria could prompt it to rein in the Lebanese guerrilla army. Syria's departure from Lebanon may have diminished some of its direct influence over Hizballah, and Damascus may have less will to restrain it while Syria remains in Washington's diplomatic doghouse. While some statements from the Bush Administration appear to hold Syria accountable for the flare-up, others are less accusatory, couched more in terms of encouraging Syria to use its influence to help resolve...
...which buzzed President Bashar Assad's palace last month as a warning to end its backing for terrorist groups. Jordanian authorities recently accused Hamas of smuggling weapons into Jordan from Syria with the intention of staging terrorist attacks against King Abdullah II's rule. But any military action against Damascus could backfire by plunging Syria itself into a sectarian conflict between Alawite loyalists and the Sunni Muslim majority that has felt excluded during the reign of the Assads...
...With both of the airport's two runways now damaged, and with Israeli gunboats reportedly setting up a naval blockade, there is no way in or out of the country except by land through Syria. Already, fleets of taxis have been heading towards Damascus, evacuating vacationers who fear getting stuck in the country if the crisis continues...
Mashaal, 50, a charismatic ex--physics professor, has remained a thorn in Israel's side. Because Israel has barred Hamas' elected leaders, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, from traveling outside the occupied territories, Mashaal, from his exile in Damascus, has been the militant movement's most effective spokesman and fund raiser. Owing to his lobbying, Iran has pledged $100 million in aid to the Hamas-led government, crippled by a five-month economic blockade imposed by Israel and others in the international community. In the past, Israel showed little hesitation in hitting Hamas militants inside Syria with air strikes...