Word: hariri
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...distant memory for most Lebanese. Beirut is hailed as a rejuvenated city of fortune. Recently, however, Lebanon suffered a stark reminder of how unstable and ill-fated the Middle East can be. The assassination of one of Lebanon’s most prominent individuals, former prime minister, Rafiq Al-Hariri, has largely been blamed on Syria—Lebanon’s neighboring state which maintains a military and political presence in the country. I, however, will neither place nor refute the blame on Syria, or any other party. Rather, the assassination of Hariri is telling of the mismanaged policies...
When considering last week’ assassination of Rafiq Hariri, this notion of civil volatility is all too apparent. Consider the two scenarios for Hariri’s assassination: either Syria is responsible, or they are not. If Syria is in fact accountable, the brutal assassination would be motivated by the Syrian leadership’s desire to reassert its power in Lebanon. In recent months, the U.S. has chosen to lambaste Syria’s presence in Lebanon, subsequently imposing sanctions on the country—an ironic demand considering the American occupation of Iraq. Thus, Damascus may have...
...insurgents across the border into Syria. The U.S. teamed up with France, long an influence in Lebanon, last fall to push through a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for all "foreign forces"--meaning Syria--to quit Lebanon. Damascus ignored it. French President Jacques Chirac, a personal friend of Hariri's, consoled the family in Beirut last week and may be more inclined to put real muscle behind the resolution. Without the broad backing of Europe, Washington has little leverage of its own over Syria. The Administration imposed punitive economic sanctions in May 2004 and could ratchet up the bans...
...three decades Syria has kept a tight grip on its client state, exercised through the 14,000 military and intelligence forces still based around Beirut and the Bekaa Valley. But opposition to the Syrian presence has grown. Damascus made a serious miscalculation last August when it manipulated the constitution. Hariri resigned in protest and quietly backed the U.N. resolution sponsored by France and the U.S. calling on Syria to depart. Since then, Hariri appeared to be joining political forces with the opposition to dominate parliamentary elections scheduled for May, in what would have amounted to a referendum on Syria...
...prefers an orderly Syrian withdrawal that would give international and Lebanese forces time to fill the security void. But the emotions stirred up by Hariri's death have raised the prospect of a far messier outcome. Many Lebanese believe the killing was an attempt by Damascus to halt the snowballing challenge to its hegemony. Hariri's death has galvanized the anti-Syria opposition. "There has been a real and dramatic change," says former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel. In Damascus, Syrian citizens wondered whether Lebanese rage over Hariri's death might provoke insurgent attacks against Syrian troops, which could reignite Lebanon...