Word: hizballah
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...that country: From Lebanon to the Persian Gulf, through peaceful elections and bloody conflicts, the Shi'ites are making their presence felt. The headlines of 2006 have been dominated by the likes of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army as sectarian warfare surged in Iraq; by Hizballah, emboldened by its summer war with Israel to challenge Lebanon's fragile political order; and by Iran's defiance of international demands over its nuclear program...
...King Abdullah's fear appeared to be confirmed by the month-long war in Lebanon in summer of 2006. The war turned Hizballah and Iran into regional power brokers, and brought jubilant Shi'ites into the streets in Iraq, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Traditional Sunni powers such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt found themselves pushed to the sidelines, unable to influence events. Even al-Qaeda was caught off-guard as it watched Hizballah steal some of its thunder. The reaction of Sunni rulers and radicals was swift: They denounced Hizballah's campaign as an Iranian-sponsored Shi'a power...
...Washington eliminated two of Iran's key regional enemies, and gave it an opportunity to spread its influence. Although the U.S. views Iranian support for Iraq's Shi'ite parties and militias as destabilizing, it can do little to stop it. And last summer's war between Israel and Hizballah showed the reach of Tehran's influence. Iran supported Hizballah and supplied it with sophisticated weaponry, and not surprisingly basked in the glory of its perceived victory to overshadow the Sunni regimes that had condemned the Shi'ite movement. Iran's shadow continues to loom large over Lebanon as Hizballah...
...rubric of 'democracy promotion' and 'election monitoring,' but it's really just an attempt to pressure the Syrian government" into doing what the U.S. wants. That would include blocking Syria's border with Iraq so insurgents do not cross into Iraq to kill U.S. troops; ending funding of Hizballah and interference in Lebanese politics; and cooperating with the U.N. in the investigation of the assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Senior Syrian government officials are considered prime suspects in Hariri case...
...ministers. This is on top of the reconstruction costs from the war with Israel, and from the 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, which together have put the country about $40 billion in debt - $9 billion of which comes due next year. But with Syria reportedly resupplying Hizballah with arms, and Israel threatening to return in greater force this spring, international investors may soon decide that the country's troubles have just begun. Which means that Lebanon could soon find itself as isolated as its prime minister...