Word: lebanons
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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...
Despite the obstacles, Siniora is optimistic about Lebanon's future as he stands on a balcony of the Sérail, with nary a protester in sight, looking out over Beirut below, the Mediterranean Sea to the west and Lebanon's snow-capped mountains to the east. "We have the benefit of past experience, which was a deadly experience," he says. "There is no other option for Lebanese but to understand that they have to live together." Perhaps his own combination of steely will and flexibility will show the way to that elusive goal...
...Iraqi-refugee issue is also changing Syria in deeper ways, altering the country's image in the Middle East--and bolstering its leverage with the U.S. While the Bush Administration has accused it of supporting terrorism in Iraq, Israel and Lebanon, Syria has established itself as the lifeboat of the Arab world. Having taken in 180,000 temporary Lebanese refugees fleeing the war with Israel last summer, Syria is the only Arab country that has been equally welcoming to all of Iraq's religious sects, according to Syrian human-rights groups. Only Jordan--which has received 750,000 Iraqis...
...embassy in Damascus to talk with Syrian officials as long as their discussions are limited to the refugee crisis. Syrian officials say their willingness to take in so many refugees has helped stabilize the region. Now they want something in return: a softer U.S. line on Syrian involvement in Lebanon and more pressure on Israel to give back occupied land in the Golan Heights. "One million refugees is a huge number," says Redwan Ziadeh, director of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies. "It is a card that Syria can play with...
...Minister Fouad Siniora, a mild-mannered former banker, has scarcely had a moment's peace since he took up his office in the wake of the Cedar Revolution in 2005. 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...