Word: hezbollah
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...This could become very dangerous now because Israel will quickly press ahead with a unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon," says TIME Jerusalem bureau chief Lisa Beyer. "And, of course, if Israel comes under attack from Hezbollah in the course of that retreat, or after, it has made clear that its response will be a lot harsher than in previous exchanges. And that, in turn, could potentially spark a new war with Syria...
...move in the delicate Middle East, however, leaves a wide wake. After Israel's withdrawal, the militia groups in Lebanon that Israel currently supports will likely disband and flee, leaving the Hezbollah, the Islamic terrorist group financed by Iran, in control of the southern half of the country. Hezbollah could continue to fire missiles at Israeli cities, and the withdrawal will certainly make it a greater threat to the weak Lebanese government and to Syria, which has tried, like Israel, to balance the situation in Lebanon in its favor...
...that Israel has tired of the pain and bloodshed of more than a decade of low-intensity warfare, it must find another way to protect its northern areas from Hezbollah attack. Having withdrawn from Lebanon, it can now seek international help to secure its borders. Yesterday, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan announced that the U.N. has been helping to draft the withdrawal plans...
Assad's dilemma is complicated by the fact that the Hezbollah guerrillas who have made occupation of south Lebanon untenable for Israel, far from content to be seen as pawns of Damascus, have their own agenda at odds with Syria's. "While Syria wants to negotiate Israeli withdrawal as part of a package that includes the Golan Heights, Hezbollah would prefer a unilateral withdrawal that would allow them to proclaim themselves the first army ever to have liberated Arab territory from Israeli control," says MacLeod. "But despite a potential conflict with Syria, Hezbollah's enjoying a surge of support throughout...
...Even if Israel is making moves toward realizing Hezbollah's prime demand, its air strikes on the guerrilla movement's positions Monday highlighted the fact that it's not retreating with its tail between its legs, and will extract fearsome retribution for any attacks across its northern border. But such attacks may be unlikely even without Syria leaning on the guerrillas, since Hezbollah would lose much of its Lebanese public support if it attacks the Israelis after they've withdrawn. And the realization that peace in Lebanon may be possible without it may yet spur Damascus back to the negotiating...