Word: hizballah
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Although the mild-mannered Siniora seemed destined for finance, Hariri's assassination, the Cedar Revolution it triggered and the exit of Syrian troops inevitably drew him into the regional struggles that have long made Lebanon a political battleground. Hizballah resigned from Siniora's government in November, accusing it of becoming a U.S. pawn that had reneged on promises to rule with Hizballah's agreement. The tipping point was the government's vote to proceed with the international tribunal over Hizballah's objections. "Our fear is that politicians will take advantage of the tribunal to get at us and others...
Although Siniora welcomes U.S. support, he bristles at opposition taunts that he is America's agent, in part because his relationship with Washington is not always an easy one. Apart from criticizing what he terms Washington's "one-sided" support for Israel, Siniora became angry during the Israel-Hizballah war last summer when the Bush Administration rebuffed Siniora's expectation that the U.S. would support an immediate cease-fire. He calls Israel "a killing machine" that used Hizballah's capture of two Israeli soldiers as a "pretext" to re-occupy Lebanon. Though opponents mocked Siniora for kissing Secretary of State...
...relented on Siniora's refusal to allow U.N. peacekeeping troops to use force, and on his demand that a U.N. resolution call for Israel's withdrawal from the disputed Shebaa Farms territory, which he insists "is Lebanese land and they should withdraw from it. I cannot go and ask Hizballah to surrender their arms while my country is still occupied." He wants the U.S. to do more to pressure Israel to pull out, but so far Washington prefers not to add to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's burdens...
Siniora did help persuade Hizballah to accept a cease-fire that required the Lebanese army to take control of southern Lebanon, Hizballah's main base of operations, for the first time in 30 years. Soon afterward, however, Hizballah plunged Lebanon into its December crisis by sending its supporters into the streets to demand more power. Though Siniora refuses to step down, he has shown flexibility. He has offered to expand the Cabinet to include more opposition figures, and to discuss limiting the scope of the U.N. investigation in light of Hizballah's fears that the tribunal might judge past acts...
...Though the protests triggered by the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri led to a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, the country's troubles have continued unabated. Siniora had to endure last summer's devastating war in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Shi'a Muslim Hizballah group. Soon after the hostilities ended, Hizballah and its allies staged massive protests demanding that Siniora's government resign. Political killings are commonplace, including the murder of one of Siniora's ministers. In an interview with TIME's Scott MacLeod and Nicholas Blanford, the Prime Minister explained...