Word: hizballah
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...earlier promised an end to 19 months of grave political crisis, assassinations and sectarian street battles that brought this tiny Mediterranean state to the brink of civil war. It also marks a new chapter in Lebanon's tortured history, one in which the Iran-backed militant group Hizballah is now recognized as the country's dominant political and military force - at Washington's expense. Proof of that was quick in coming: Suleiman's first official meeting as Lebanon's head of state was scheduled to be with Manuchehr Mottaki, the foreign minister of Iran...
Topping the list of challenges facing Suleiman is the fate of Hizballah's arms - more pressing than ever after the Shi'ite group smashed the 19-month deadlock and routed its rivals with the stunning military seizure of west Beirut on May 9. The group's success on the ground is mirrored in the Doha agreement, hammered out in Qatar last week. In the deal, Lebanon's bickering leaders agreed to elect Suleiman, settled on an electoral law for next year's parliamentary elections, and formed a new government of national unity that grants the Hizballah-led opposition its long...
...inaugural address on Sunday, Suleiman said that Lebanon required a strong national defense strategy incorporating the "capabilities of the resistance" alongside the Lebanese army to confront "Israeli aggression." Hizballah's domestic opponents in the so-called "March 14 coalition" will press hard to limit the Shi'ite party's ability to use its weapons. But they have little leverage against a Hizballah that has proven it will fight to prevent being disarmed...
...This is a very complicated process," says Timur Goksel, a Beirut-based university lecturer and long-time observer of Hizballah. "Suleiman is a cool-headed man and he knows his limitations. I don't think he will rush into anything...
After an 18-month stalemate punctuated by recent violence, Lebanon's political factions reached a power-sharing deal that will install army General Michel Suleiman as President. The pact also grants significant new powers to militant group Hizballah, which drew criticism from Osama bin Laden in a recent audiotape for lacking the strength to battle Israel...