Word: lebanon
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...Right Response to Hizballah It is disingenuous to assert that the U.S. has no influence over the Hizballah takeover in Lebanon [May 26]. In fact, these events are the culmination of inept and inconsistent U.S. policies there, and the situation might still be changed if we assessed facts correctly instead of pandering to the illusions of American special-interest groups. Hizballah is powerful because the U.S. cut and ran from Lebanon when it bombed our airport Marine barracks in the '80s. The U.S. must display respect for the leaders of all other countries and parties, friend or foe, and stop...
...crisis manager, not a crisis resolver," says Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Endowment's Middle East Center in Beirut. Prior to his election as President, Suleiman was commander of the Lebanese army, an appointment he was accorded in 1998 under the auspices of Syria, which then dominated Lebanon. Since Syria disengaged from Lebanon in April 2005 following mass street protests, Suleiman has steered an even course amid feuding Lebanese factions. His priority has been to preserve the integrity of the Lebanese army, widely regarded as almost the only functioning state institution. Suleiman's profile rose considerably last summer when...
...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-sought demand of a veto-wielding third share of cabinet seats. That means the opposition...
...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...
...being established to try Hariri's killers and the perpetrators of several other assassinations since then. Syria has denied involvement in the deaths and argues that the tribunal is nothing more than a political weapon wielded by the U.S. Still, few doubt that fences need to be mended between Lebanon and Syria, however difficult that may prove: in their 60 or so years of independent existence, the two neighbors have never formally demarcated their joint border nor exchanged diplomatic representatives...