Word: lebanons
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...more than two years, Lebanon's so-called Cedar Revolutionaries - the country's anti-Syrian politicians - have helped lead the Bush Administration's charge to promote democracy and curb anti-Western extremism in the Middle East. Since the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which sparked the anti-Syrian protests in Beirut - dubbed by Washington as the Cedar Revolution - and ended three decades of Syrian domination, the U.S. has backed the pro-Western government in Lebanon in hopes of denying Syria (and Iran) influence in the country...
...parliamentary elections last year. Despite being under severe pressure from Israel, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the international community, Hamas recently seized military control of Gaza and continues to hold an Israeli soldier it captured in 2006. For its part, Hizballah not only drove Israeli forces out of Lebanon after a 22-year occupation, but was hailed in the Arab world last year for resisting a massive Israeli incursion into Lebanon. That onslaught was triggered by Hizballah's capture of two Israeli soldiers, and Israel's failure to crush Hizballah or even win the release of its men severely damaged...
Asked about the standoff with the West over his country's nuclear program, Fahima repeated Iran's insistence that it is seeking atomic power only for civilian purposes. Moreover, he said he doubts that the United States can resolve key regional issues in the Middle East, including Iraq and Lebanon, without the help of Iran. "We don't expect the superpower will attack," Fahima concluded. "But if they do, I am sure the Holy See would not be favorable to such a choice...
...elsewhere, U.S. and Iranian officials in Rome do not have any direct contact. With American officials, Vatican diplomats sometimes raise the subject of Iran in the context of ongoing efforts to stabilize Lebanon, where the Catholic Church is actively involved in negotiations because of that country's large Christian population...
...toppling of Saddam Hussein is a painful reminder that transforming Arab dictatorships into pro-Western democracies will not be simple. The Iraqi quagmire has helped Iran rise as a leader of forces opposed to a Pax Americana, with the clout to play a spoiler role in Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East. The prospect that Iran could assemble a nuclear weapon in the coming few years, and the possibility that the U.S. may launch preemptive military strikes on Iran, are ominous signs of how the Middle East can still take further turns for the worse...