Word: lebanon
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...just pick this up again, a few years from now? I think this is really a turning point. The next conflict will be very dangerous. We have seen shades of that. Israel in particular has to worry about that. Some vulnerability appeared on its part in the Lebanon adventure which is not absent from the minds of anybody who wants to do mischief in the region...
Lebanese troops and armored vehicles have deployed at key junctions in Beirut in case the tensions spill over into factional violence. "It's a very delicate moment in the country," said Sateh Noureddine, a columnist for Lebanon's As Safir daily newspaper...
With a vacuum looming, Lahoud, in a final act as president, charged the army with enforcing law and order, claiming that "risks of a state of emergency" prevailed over Lebanon. Lahoud, like the opposition, has refused to recognize the legitimacy of government since all five Shi'ite ministers walked out of the cabinet a year ago. But the office of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora swiftly responded by saying that Lahoud's move was unconstitutional and that the army would continue to follow the instructions of the government. So far, the leaders of both factions appear unwilling to risk further escalation...
...political crisis in Lebanon is seen by many as a microcosm of the regional power struggle between the United States, Iran and Syria. Some analysts here believe that the Lebanese impasse could be broken if Syria is given a prominent role at the forthcoming peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, to revive Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Syria, which backs the Lebanese opposition, says it will only participate in the conference if the Golan Heights, Syrian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, is included on the agenda. If Syria's demand is met, Damascus could use its influence over the opposition to accept...
Though Arab nations as a whole have agreed to show up in Annapolis on Tuesday, it is not yet certain whether Syria will be among them. Thus, the Annapolis conference could end up having a greater impact on keeping the peace in Lebanon than on reaching peace between Israel and the Palestinians...