Word: syrians
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...with disastrous consequences. "The only people who want those elections are Condi Rice and Hamas," a prominent member of Israel's Kadima party told me just before Hamas won the election. A more careful and collegial U.S. Middle East policy might have forced the simultaneous disarming of Hizballah as Syrian troops left Lebanon in 2005. This is not to say that the Bush Administration caused last week's explosion, or even that meticulous diplomacy might have prevented it. But it couldn't have hurt. Instead, the U.S. and Iran may have become unwitting co-conspirators, pouring gas onto a petroleum...
SYRIA President Bashar Assad has disclaimed any ties to Lebanon since the withdrawal of Syrian troops in 2005 but remains a sponsor of Hizballah and is host to Hamas leaders...
...might not be obvious to the outside world, since Ahmadinejad rushed to warn Israel about the consequences of extending its offensive to Syria: "[This] will be equivalent to an attack on the whole Islamic world, and [Israel] will face a crushing response," he said during a phone conversation with Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to the official Iranian news agency...
...Syria's troop withdrawal from Lebanon last year has also reshaped Iran's dealings with Hizballah, analysts here say. Before the Syrian withdrawal, Iran and Damascus competed for influence through their various Lebanese proxies, but now Iran is finding it to easier to funnel its support for Hizballah via Damascus. "Iran and Syria are now standing behind each other," says Laylaz. "Their strategy is more unified." Does this mean that Iran micro-manages Hizballah or vets its major operations? "Hizballah sees the need to confer with Iran," says Atrianfar. "But it doesn't necessarily do so over tactics...
...despite the exit of the PLO in 1982, of Israeli occupation forces in 2000 and of Syrian troops last year, Lebanon is divided between Hizballah and its allies on one hand, and an alliance of Christians and non-Shi'ite Muslims that wants Hizballah disarmed on the other. Lebanese have tried hard to escape the ghosts and hardship of the civil war years, and the reconstruction led by the late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri has reinvigorated the tourist industry. Hizballah's move and Israel's response to it, however, is likely to send thousands of foreign visitors - and their much...