Not even sure if this is the correct forum for this thread but it can get moved if its not.
Just wanted to know if anyone had any info/experience with the situation in Lebanon.
All i know is there is the Druz (sp?), Muslims, and Christians who are constantly quarrelling. I also know that the UN got their hineys shot off in there.
Could anyone recommend some websites (that are harder to find obviously) or could someone comment with some experience from there?
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Lebanon
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Mrs. Frank S.
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I'll check with my friend back in my home town. He spent a few years playing "lets try to get across the bridge without getting shot by the snipers" (in Beirut) until he immigrated to the states. If I get any good website suggestions, I'll post 'em for you. He travels the world selling seed for crops, so it may be a while before I talk to him again.
Redhand,
I covered Beirut very briefly during the early 1990's and have many friends in the press corps who were there throughout the civil war. What exactly is it that youo want to know? I'll try to write up a basic summary of the recent civil war for you but it will take a while. If there is anything specific that you are after, let me know.
Regards
Pasha
I covered Beirut very briefly during the early 1990's and have many friends in the press corps who were there throughout the civil war. What exactly is it that youo want to know? I'll try to write up a basic summary of the recent civil war for you but it will take a while. If there is anything specific that you are after, let me know.
Regards
Pasha
"To subdue the enemy without using force, is the acme of skill" Sun Tzu.
Redhand,
What follows below, are brief summaries and if you want some more in depth specifics I'll see what I can't dig up for you.
The Druze
The Druze are one of the religious curiousities of the Middle East. Originally an off-shoot of Islam, they have diversified so much from mainstream Islam that are often considered to a whole seperate religion. The ajority of Druze live in the Lebanon, but there are also many in Syria and some in Israel.
They originated from the Fatimid Ismailis, which is a branch of Shia Islam. Essentially the Druze believe that God incarnated himself in men at various times and that his last and final incarnation was Al-Hakim bi Amrillah, the 6th Fatamid Caliph who died in 1021. Al-Hakim had declared himself to be an incarnation of God in Cairo in 1016 and by the following year the concept had gained a following, thanks mostly to the exhortations of Hasan al-Akhram, an Ismaili missionary.
After the murder of al-Akhram in 1018, Hamzah ibn Ali ibn Ahmad became the leader and major founder of the new sect. He became a vizier (minister) to Al-Hakim and made many converts, especially in Syria.The third founding member of the sect, from which its name derives, was Mohammed Ibn Ismail al-Darazi. He was an Ismaili teacher who went to Cairo in about 1017. He taught that devine spirit , embodied in Adam, passed down to Ali and from him through the imams to Al-Hakim. Al-Darazi disappeared - his followers say that he withdrew secretly to Syria. In 1021 Al-Hakim also disappeared, though he was probably assassinated.
The laws laid down by Hamza are still considered binding by Druze today. Briefly theyt are as follows:
1) Vercity in dealing wioth each other.
2) Mutual protection and assistance.
3) Renunciatin of other religions.
4) Belief in the devine incarnation of Al-Hakim.
5) Contentment with the works of God.
6) Submission to God's will.
7) Dissociation from kafirs (unbelievers).*
They believe in reincarnation and that there are a fixed number of souls in existence. Druze tenets also include the belief that Al-Hakim and Hamza will reappear, conquer the world and establish justice.
The Druze gather for prayers on a Thursday evening, not in mosques, but in anonymous looking halls outside Druze villages. Outsiders are not permitted entrance and the rites remain guarded secrets.
* Note: Kafir is a pretty broad term, but most Moslems in the Middle East that I have talked to, use it to refer to those that are not "al Kat'b" or "people of the Book" i.e. Moslems, Christians and Jews.
The Lebanon: Modern History Abridged
Lebanon had been a part of the Ottoman empire, but following Turkey's defeat in WWI Lebanon and Syria were placed under French administration as Mandates by the League of Nations. In 1926 a constitution was drawn up that established the Greater Lebanon province as the Lebanese Republic. One feature of this constitution was the formalising of the concept of power sharing, based on the respective size of each religious group. This was no easy task as there were a whole array of different churches and sects to consider. A Lebanese president was elected to exercise office under French supervision.
The first president was Charles Debbas who was a Christion Greek Orthodox, but after 19934 it became custom for the President to be a Maronite Christian and his deputy to be a Sunni Moslem. This custom is still observed today. It's also custom to allocate various cabinet posts and heads of state institiutions to various religious communities according to their proportion of society. The Speakker of the House is always a Shi'ite, commander of the Army is a Maronite and the chief of staff is a Druze. There was also an agreement that all state bodies be staffed at a ratio of six Christians to five Moslems.
The French were ousted in 1943 by British, Indian and Free-French troops, who had promised independence to both Syria and Lebanon following the fall of the Vichy Government. Lebanon was granted full independence by the Free French commander General Catroux. Independence was declared in 1946 under the new president Bishara al-Khuri.
Independence
President al-Khuri was largely reponsible for the internal agreement between religious groups, known as the National Pact, althought this was always a 'gentleman's agreement' and not ratified in law. Internally Lebanon was affected by the growth of the Syrian nationalist movement, some sections of which demanded that Lebanon be reduced to its Ottoman province size or even abolition of an independent state altogether. Some Sunni areas of Lebanon, which had been added to the republic in 1920, supported this idea. During the Syrian revolt of 1925-6, the trouble spread to these parts of southern Lebanon.
The Maronites generally supported the idea of an independent state, but still suffered from internel political differences chiefly concerning Lebanon's relationship with Europe and the Arab world. Despite all this, Lebanon became extremely prosperous during a period of substantial economic growth from the 1950's to the early 1970's.
In the early 1950's, Syria put pressure on Lebanon to form a full economic union, but Lebanon refused. This had foollowed an awkward pperiod when France had devalued the Franc and obliged Lebanon to sign a new economic agreement with France. Syria was in the same boat but refused to sign an agreement with France. The result was a drawn out complicated wrangling over the nature of the their ecomic and financial agreements.
Lebanon was always getting caught between the East and the West. She had been technically at war since 1948, but had played no real part in that conflict aside from opening her borders to Palestinian refugees. During Suez, Lebanon remained neutral though many moslems favoured Egypt and christians supported the west.. It all came to a head when President Camille Chamoun refused to back Nasser's anti-western line. There was a threat of civil-war and a state of emergency was declared. The crisis was averted by the llanding of US troops in Beirut in 1958.
The US had started taking a greater interest in the Middle East and started offering financial and military aid to just about anyone who wanted it, all in the name of combating the rise of Communism. The acceptance of millions of US dollars in aid alarmed many political groups in Lebanon, who viewed such a blatant pro-US stance would isolate the country from others in the region. The pro-US policies provoked massive unrest around the time of the 1957 elections, involving bombings and assassinations.
Further tension arose when Lebanon refused to join the United Arab Republic with Syria and Egypt, or the Arab Federation with Jordan and Iraq, or anything else that would impede its total independence. The moslem population tended to be pro-Arab more than pro-Lebanon, but even the government's supporters, some of whom only lent their support in order to maintain Lebanon's independence, intensely disliked the alliance with the west.
Things started to spiral out of control with the government ejecting anti-western elements from power. Hostile mobs torched US Information Centres in Triploi and Beirut. The US sent ever more military and police equipment, and reinforced the US 6th Fleet in the Med, causing an outcry in Moscow. The government was facing a widespread insurrection and requested the presence of US troopsto maintain security. About 10 000 Marines were deployed to the Beirut area causing further outrage in Moscow and Beijing. To calm matters, the UN took over and oversaw the withdrawl of American troops. The elections brought a new president, Fouad Chehab, who appointed the insurrection leader Rachid Karami, to the post of Prime Minister. By 1960 the economy had recovered from the events of 1958.
The 1960's were characterised by a succession of cabinets and presidents. All the governments were still commited to free enterprise and the banking sector had a free rein with all the oil money flowing into Lebanon from the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. Lebanon managed to avoid the June war of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Following the Six Day War, however, Palestinian fighters started launching raids into Israel. In May 968 Israel launched cross border attacks and the Lebanese Government tried to curb the Palestinian guerrillas, without much success. Again events escalated. In December of 1968, an El Al jet was machine-gunned at Athens airport. In retaliation the Israelis attacked Beirut Airport and destroyed 13 Lebanese passenger jets.
In 1969 Lebanese forces clashed with Palestinian who were demanding independence in their camp security and freedom to launch cross border attacks. Under pressure from Lebanes Moslem supporters, the Lebanese Govvernment signed the Cairo Agreement with the PLO. This meant that the Palestinian camps were moved away from civilian areas in order to minimise casualties in event of Israeli reprisals. It also stated that military training in the camps had to cease and that guerrillas had to launch attacks after having entered Israel rather than across the border.
Although the Lebanese Army was not involved, fighting broke out between the Palestinian guerrillas and right-wing Christian Phalangist groups. In May, Israel launched a major invasion and occupied southern Lebanon for a number of days. In September 1970, after an abortive coup attempt in Amman, the Jordanians crushed and evicted the PLO in Jordan. Consequently many PLO fighters made their way to Lebanon.
The increased power of the Palestinians coupled with the shift in relative numbers of the Moslem and Christian populations in Lebanon, brought the carefully balanced National Pact into question. Lebanon was becoming increasingly factionalised; groups were arming themselves and forming private militias. The control of the government forces was slipping away. Clashes between the Palestinian and Lebanese forces continued, culminating in a heavy round of fighting in 1973. The frequent Israeli raids in southern Lebanon drove Shi'ite populations to the cities in great numbers, often to the poor districts next to the Palestinian refugee camps.
By the mid-1970's this cocktail of pressures led the Maronites to boost their own power, which was becoming increasingly under threat. The left-Moslem alliance pushed for constitutional reforms, which break the exiisting guarantees of Maronite power. The Maronites gambled on receiving support from Israel and the west if they took on the PLO. Whhat happened next plunged the Lebanon into 17 years of misery, civil-war and foreign occupation.
The Civil War
In 1975 fighting broke out between the Lebanese Moslems and Maronite-dominated Phalangist militias. The ggovernment had ceased to function and power fell more and more into the hands of various armed factions. Lebanon was effectively in a state of anarchy. The Plo declared for the Moslem side in early 1976. This caused Syria to move against the PLO, because they were wary of an Israeli response.
Beirut was soon demarcated along the famous "Green Line". East Beirut was Christian and West Beirut was Moslem. The rest of country was similarly partioned by various sects. This was to be the state of affairs for the entire 17 year period of the civil-war, although loyalties and alliances would often shift and sides would reform many times.
In June 1976 the Arab League brokered a truce, creating a peacekeeping force led by the Syrians. Fighting continued inspite of this and in 1978 Israel invaded southern Lebanon in an all-out attack on Palestinian bbases. The israelis withdrew and were replaced by a UN peacekeeping force, but this did not stop the Israelis using the Maronites as a "cat's paw" to strike the PLO with.
In June 1982, Israel invaded again, this time overrunning the PLO and reaching the Beirut guerrillas. In a US brokered deal, the PLO agreed to leave Beirut in mid-August. During the summer elections held under Israeli occupation the Chrisitian militia leader Bashir Gemayel was elected. His term in office was brief as he was assassinated by September. His brother Amin was elected to take his place and took a terrible revenge. Upto 1000 Palestinian civilians (the fighters had alrady been evacuated) in the Sabra and Chatila camps were slaughtered by Phalangist militia. The massacre took place under the eyes of occupying Israeli troops who did nothing to intervene. Reports of the massacre shocked the world and led Israel to withdraw from Beirut back to Southern Lebanon. An international peacekeeping force was moved into Beirut, which in turn became a target for terrorists and over 300 US and French troops were killed in October 1983. Subsequently the western forces pulled out.
By 1985 Israel had also pulled out of most of southern Lebanon, remaining in a security zone alongside a pro-Israeli force called the South Lebanese Army. An Iranian backed radical Shi'ite group called Hezbollah (Party of God) started waging war on Israel and the SLA in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah also iniated a campaign of kidnapping foreigners, causing an exodus of westerners from the country.
In 1987 the Syrians entered Beirut in order to end the fighting between the Palestinians and the Lebanese. Syria was the most influential foreign power in Lebanon and perhaps the only force in the region with enough muscle to influence events. While the government still existed on paper, the real power lay in the hands of the militias. The Shi'ites had become the largest group but were relatively weak. The Amal had a big political base but little military muscle. The Amal was also challenged by Hezbollah, a more religious and fundamentalist movement. The Maronites were still fairly cohesive despite internal rifts in 1985, and enjoyed economic self sufficiency. The Druze, headed by Walid Joumblatt, were small in number but strong in solidarity.
The longer the war went on, the more fragmented the groups became. Real political power devolved to smaller and smaller units and Lebanon's credibility as an independent country looked pretty farcical. When Amin Gemayel's term ended in 1988, he nominated General Michel Aoun, the Christian commander of the army, to lead the interim government. In 1989 an agreement in Taif, Saudi Arabia proposed a new constituition. The Taif agreement was ratified and René Moawwad was elected president before being assassinated 17 dayys later. Parliament replaced him with Elias Hrawi. In 1990, together with the Lebanese Army, the Syrians started disarming mst militias and regaining much of the countryside for government rule. The PLO, Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Baalbeck, the Hezbollah in Bekaa Valley and the Israeli backed SLA, all refused to disarm under one pretext or other.
According to programme of reconciliation, Lebanon would have far greater ties with Syria including matters of military, security and economic affairs. Christian and Phalangist groups abstained from voting on this treaty. By June 1992 all western hostages had been released. The Israelis launched a heavy assault on southern Lebanon in July 1992 causing a displacement of 300 000 civilians who fled to the cities causing further chaos.
In 1993 Rfiq Hariri became the new Prime Minister. He largely oversaw the beginning of the reconstruction of much of Lebanon. The long civil-war was over but the country was in a ruinous state with no public service worthy of the name still in existence. In 1994 the government issued shares in Solidere, the company formed to carry out the reconstruction and pretty ambitious clearance and rebuilding scheme was launched. Ten years on and the buildin is still ongoing, but the transformation is truly remarkable. It should be noted that the south of Lebanon continued to see extensive conflict between Hezbollah and the SLA, with periodic interventions from Israel. The most notable was in April 1996 when the IDF launched "Operation Grapes of Wrath". Ostensibly a sea-air-land op against Hezbollah, it went far beyond the south reaching parts of Beirut itself and knocking out a power station. Civilians once again attempted to flee, seeking sanctuary at the UN base at Qana, which was itself shelled by the Israelis killing over a 100 civilians and UN personnel. The international response forced a cease-fire. The Israelis finally abandoned the Security Zone (and their SLA allies with it) in May 2000.
What follows below, are brief summaries and if you want some more in depth specifics I'll see what I can't dig up for you.
The Druze
The Druze are one of the religious curiousities of the Middle East. Originally an off-shoot of Islam, they have diversified so much from mainstream Islam that are often considered to a whole seperate religion. The ajority of Druze live in the Lebanon, but there are also many in Syria and some in Israel.
They originated from the Fatimid Ismailis, which is a branch of Shia Islam. Essentially the Druze believe that God incarnated himself in men at various times and that his last and final incarnation was Al-Hakim bi Amrillah, the 6th Fatamid Caliph who died in 1021. Al-Hakim had declared himself to be an incarnation of God in Cairo in 1016 and by the following year the concept had gained a following, thanks mostly to the exhortations of Hasan al-Akhram, an Ismaili missionary.
After the murder of al-Akhram in 1018, Hamzah ibn Ali ibn Ahmad became the leader and major founder of the new sect. He became a vizier (minister) to Al-Hakim and made many converts, especially in Syria.The third founding member of the sect, from which its name derives, was Mohammed Ibn Ismail al-Darazi. He was an Ismaili teacher who went to Cairo in about 1017. He taught that devine spirit , embodied in Adam, passed down to Ali and from him through the imams to Al-Hakim. Al-Darazi disappeared - his followers say that he withdrew secretly to Syria. In 1021 Al-Hakim also disappeared, though he was probably assassinated.
The laws laid down by Hamza are still considered binding by Druze today. Briefly theyt are as follows:
1) Vercity in dealing wioth each other.
2) Mutual protection and assistance.
3) Renunciatin of other religions.
4) Belief in the devine incarnation of Al-Hakim.
5) Contentment with the works of God.
6) Submission to God's will.
7) Dissociation from kafirs (unbelievers).*
They believe in reincarnation and that there are a fixed number of souls in existence. Druze tenets also include the belief that Al-Hakim and Hamza will reappear, conquer the world and establish justice.
The Druze gather for prayers on a Thursday evening, not in mosques, but in anonymous looking halls outside Druze villages. Outsiders are not permitted entrance and the rites remain guarded secrets.
* Note: Kafir is a pretty broad term, but most Moslems in the Middle East that I have talked to, use it to refer to those that are not "al Kat'b" or "people of the Book" i.e. Moslems, Christians and Jews.
The Lebanon: Modern History Abridged
Lebanon had been a part of the Ottoman empire, but following Turkey's defeat in WWI Lebanon and Syria were placed under French administration as Mandates by the League of Nations. In 1926 a constitution was drawn up that established the Greater Lebanon province as the Lebanese Republic. One feature of this constitution was the formalising of the concept of power sharing, based on the respective size of each religious group. This was no easy task as there were a whole array of different churches and sects to consider. A Lebanese president was elected to exercise office under French supervision.
The first president was Charles Debbas who was a Christion Greek Orthodox, but after 19934 it became custom for the President to be a Maronite Christian and his deputy to be a Sunni Moslem. This custom is still observed today. It's also custom to allocate various cabinet posts and heads of state institiutions to various religious communities according to their proportion of society. The Speakker of the House is always a Shi'ite, commander of the Army is a Maronite and the chief of staff is a Druze. There was also an agreement that all state bodies be staffed at a ratio of six Christians to five Moslems.
The French were ousted in 1943 by British, Indian and Free-French troops, who had promised independence to both Syria and Lebanon following the fall of the Vichy Government. Lebanon was granted full independence by the Free French commander General Catroux. Independence was declared in 1946 under the new president Bishara al-Khuri.
Independence
President al-Khuri was largely reponsible for the internal agreement between religious groups, known as the National Pact, althought this was always a 'gentleman's agreement' and not ratified in law. Internally Lebanon was affected by the growth of the Syrian nationalist movement, some sections of which demanded that Lebanon be reduced to its Ottoman province size or even abolition of an independent state altogether. Some Sunni areas of Lebanon, which had been added to the republic in 1920, supported this idea. During the Syrian revolt of 1925-6, the trouble spread to these parts of southern Lebanon.
The Maronites generally supported the idea of an independent state, but still suffered from internel political differences chiefly concerning Lebanon's relationship with Europe and the Arab world. Despite all this, Lebanon became extremely prosperous during a period of substantial economic growth from the 1950's to the early 1970's.
In the early 1950's, Syria put pressure on Lebanon to form a full economic union, but Lebanon refused. This had foollowed an awkward pperiod when France had devalued the Franc and obliged Lebanon to sign a new economic agreement with France. Syria was in the same boat but refused to sign an agreement with France. The result was a drawn out complicated wrangling over the nature of the their ecomic and financial agreements.
Lebanon was always getting caught between the East and the West. She had been technically at war since 1948, but had played no real part in that conflict aside from opening her borders to Palestinian refugees. During Suez, Lebanon remained neutral though many moslems favoured Egypt and christians supported the west.. It all came to a head when President Camille Chamoun refused to back Nasser's anti-western line. There was a threat of civil-war and a state of emergency was declared. The crisis was averted by the llanding of US troops in Beirut in 1958.
The US had started taking a greater interest in the Middle East and started offering financial and military aid to just about anyone who wanted it, all in the name of combating the rise of Communism. The acceptance of millions of US dollars in aid alarmed many political groups in Lebanon, who viewed such a blatant pro-US stance would isolate the country from others in the region. The pro-US policies provoked massive unrest around the time of the 1957 elections, involving bombings and assassinations.
Further tension arose when Lebanon refused to join the United Arab Republic with Syria and Egypt, or the Arab Federation with Jordan and Iraq, or anything else that would impede its total independence. The moslem population tended to be pro-Arab more than pro-Lebanon, but even the government's supporters, some of whom only lent their support in order to maintain Lebanon's independence, intensely disliked the alliance with the west.
Things started to spiral out of control with the government ejecting anti-western elements from power. Hostile mobs torched US Information Centres in Triploi and Beirut. The US sent ever more military and police equipment, and reinforced the US 6th Fleet in the Med, causing an outcry in Moscow. The government was facing a widespread insurrection and requested the presence of US troopsto maintain security. About 10 000 Marines were deployed to the Beirut area causing further outrage in Moscow and Beijing. To calm matters, the UN took over and oversaw the withdrawl of American troops. The elections brought a new president, Fouad Chehab, who appointed the insurrection leader Rachid Karami, to the post of Prime Minister. By 1960 the economy had recovered from the events of 1958.
The 1960's were characterised by a succession of cabinets and presidents. All the governments were still commited to free enterprise and the banking sector had a free rein with all the oil money flowing into Lebanon from the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. Lebanon managed to avoid the June war of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Following the Six Day War, however, Palestinian fighters started launching raids into Israel. In May 968 Israel launched cross border attacks and the Lebanese Government tried to curb the Palestinian guerrillas, without much success. Again events escalated. In December of 1968, an El Al jet was machine-gunned at Athens airport. In retaliation the Israelis attacked Beirut Airport and destroyed 13 Lebanese passenger jets.
In 1969 Lebanese forces clashed with Palestinian who were demanding independence in their camp security and freedom to launch cross border attacks. Under pressure from Lebanes Moslem supporters, the Lebanese Govvernment signed the Cairo Agreement with the PLO. This meant that the Palestinian camps were moved away from civilian areas in order to minimise casualties in event of Israeli reprisals. It also stated that military training in the camps had to cease and that guerrillas had to launch attacks after having entered Israel rather than across the border.
Although the Lebanese Army was not involved, fighting broke out between the Palestinian guerrillas and right-wing Christian Phalangist groups. In May, Israel launched a major invasion and occupied southern Lebanon for a number of days. In September 1970, after an abortive coup attempt in Amman, the Jordanians crushed and evicted the PLO in Jordan. Consequently many PLO fighters made their way to Lebanon.
The increased power of the Palestinians coupled with the shift in relative numbers of the Moslem and Christian populations in Lebanon, brought the carefully balanced National Pact into question. Lebanon was becoming increasingly factionalised; groups were arming themselves and forming private militias. The control of the government forces was slipping away. Clashes between the Palestinian and Lebanese forces continued, culminating in a heavy round of fighting in 1973. The frequent Israeli raids in southern Lebanon drove Shi'ite populations to the cities in great numbers, often to the poor districts next to the Palestinian refugee camps.
By the mid-1970's this cocktail of pressures led the Maronites to boost their own power, which was becoming increasingly under threat. The left-Moslem alliance pushed for constitutional reforms, which break the exiisting guarantees of Maronite power. The Maronites gambled on receiving support from Israel and the west if they took on the PLO. Whhat happened next plunged the Lebanon into 17 years of misery, civil-war and foreign occupation.
The Civil War
In 1975 fighting broke out between the Lebanese Moslems and Maronite-dominated Phalangist militias. The ggovernment had ceased to function and power fell more and more into the hands of various armed factions. Lebanon was effectively in a state of anarchy. The Plo declared for the Moslem side in early 1976. This caused Syria to move against the PLO, because they were wary of an Israeli response.
Beirut was soon demarcated along the famous "Green Line". East Beirut was Christian and West Beirut was Moslem. The rest of country was similarly partioned by various sects. This was to be the state of affairs for the entire 17 year period of the civil-war, although loyalties and alliances would often shift and sides would reform many times.
In June 1976 the Arab League brokered a truce, creating a peacekeeping force led by the Syrians. Fighting continued inspite of this and in 1978 Israel invaded southern Lebanon in an all-out attack on Palestinian bbases. The israelis withdrew and were replaced by a UN peacekeeping force, but this did not stop the Israelis using the Maronites as a "cat's paw" to strike the PLO with.
In June 1982, Israel invaded again, this time overrunning the PLO and reaching the Beirut guerrillas. In a US brokered deal, the PLO agreed to leave Beirut in mid-August. During the summer elections held under Israeli occupation the Chrisitian militia leader Bashir Gemayel was elected. His term in office was brief as he was assassinated by September. His brother Amin was elected to take his place and took a terrible revenge. Upto 1000 Palestinian civilians (the fighters had alrady been evacuated) in the Sabra and Chatila camps were slaughtered by Phalangist militia. The massacre took place under the eyes of occupying Israeli troops who did nothing to intervene. Reports of the massacre shocked the world and led Israel to withdraw from Beirut back to Southern Lebanon. An international peacekeeping force was moved into Beirut, which in turn became a target for terrorists and over 300 US and French troops were killed in October 1983. Subsequently the western forces pulled out.
By 1985 Israel had also pulled out of most of southern Lebanon, remaining in a security zone alongside a pro-Israeli force called the South Lebanese Army. An Iranian backed radical Shi'ite group called Hezbollah (Party of God) started waging war on Israel and the SLA in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah also iniated a campaign of kidnapping foreigners, causing an exodus of westerners from the country.
In 1987 the Syrians entered Beirut in order to end the fighting between the Palestinians and the Lebanese. Syria was the most influential foreign power in Lebanon and perhaps the only force in the region with enough muscle to influence events. While the government still existed on paper, the real power lay in the hands of the militias. The Shi'ites had become the largest group but were relatively weak. The Amal had a big political base but little military muscle. The Amal was also challenged by Hezbollah, a more religious and fundamentalist movement. The Maronites were still fairly cohesive despite internal rifts in 1985, and enjoyed economic self sufficiency. The Druze, headed by Walid Joumblatt, were small in number but strong in solidarity.
The longer the war went on, the more fragmented the groups became. Real political power devolved to smaller and smaller units and Lebanon's credibility as an independent country looked pretty farcical. When Amin Gemayel's term ended in 1988, he nominated General Michel Aoun, the Christian commander of the army, to lead the interim government. In 1989 an agreement in Taif, Saudi Arabia proposed a new constituition. The Taif agreement was ratified and René Moawwad was elected president before being assassinated 17 dayys later. Parliament replaced him with Elias Hrawi. In 1990, together with the Lebanese Army, the Syrians started disarming mst militias and regaining much of the countryside for government rule. The PLO, Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Baalbeck, the Hezbollah in Bekaa Valley and the Israeli backed SLA, all refused to disarm under one pretext or other.
According to programme of reconciliation, Lebanon would have far greater ties with Syria including matters of military, security and economic affairs. Christian and Phalangist groups abstained from voting on this treaty. By June 1992 all western hostages had been released. The Israelis launched a heavy assault on southern Lebanon in July 1992 causing a displacement of 300 000 civilians who fled to the cities causing further chaos.
In 1993 Rfiq Hariri became the new Prime Minister. He largely oversaw the beginning of the reconstruction of much of Lebanon. The long civil-war was over but the country was in a ruinous state with no public service worthy of the name still in existence. In 1994 the government issued shares in Solidere, the company formed to carry out the reconstruction and pretty ambitious clearance and rebuilding scheme was launched. Ten years on and the buildin is still ongoing, but the transformation is truly remarkable. It should be noted that the south of Lebanon continued to see extensive conflict between Hezbollah and the SLA, with periodic interventions from Israel. The most notable was in April 1996 when the IDF launched "Operation Grapes of Wrath". Ostensibly a sea-air-land op against Hezbollah, it went far beyond the south reaching parts of Beirut itself and knocking out a power station. Civilians once again attempted to flee, seeking sanctuary at the UN base at Qana, which was itself shelled by the Israelis killing over a 100 civilians and UN personnel. The international response forced a cease-fire. The Israelis finally abandoned the Security Zone (and their SLA allies with it) in May 2000.
Last edited by Pasha on Sun 29 Aug, 2004 8:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"To subdue the enemy without using force, is the acme of skill" Sun Tzu.
if you are looking for a fairly comprehensive history of the conflict in Lebanon you may want to try Robert Fisch's " pity the nation" and try to get the updated version as it include's up to the present day trouble at the cheeba farms.
i spent over three years in total in south lebanon with UNIFIL which included a lot of the incident's described by pasha, isrealie invasion-withdrawal, grapes of wrath, full withdrawal in 2000 and spent a long time in the isrealie exclusion zone and i must say that it was one of the most un-reported on conflict's in this media obsessed wourld.
before there are comment's on the in-effectiveness of the UN in south lebanon i would just like to say that we had a mandate which had to be adhered to, and that is not the easiest thing to do,
keep safe.
i spent over three years in total in south lebanon with UNIFIL which included a lot of the incident's described by pasha, isrealie invasion-withdrawal, grapes of wrath, full withdrawal in 2000 and spent a long time in the isrealie exclusion zone and i must say that it was one of the most un-reported on conflict's in this media obsessed wourld.
before there are comment's on the in-effectiveness of the UN in south lebanon i would just like to say that we had a mandate which had to be adhered to, and that is not the easiest thing to do,
keep safe.
Jpb,
You're right, it was a very unreported conflict. Sad to say the world is full of them. I'd wager that mentioning the Battle of At Tiri in any Irish High St. today would draw blank looks, which is a pity given the sacrifices of the Irish Army there.
As well as Robert Fisk, Thomas Friedman's "Beirut to Jerusalem" is a compelling and insightful read. I wasn't there during Grapes of Wrath, but many of my colleagues (including one unfortunate at Qana) were and some of the stories coming out of there were pretty horrific.
Regards mate!
Pasha
You're right, it was a very unreported conflict. Sad to say the world is full of them. I'd wager that mentioning the Battle of At Tiri in any Irish High St. today would draw blank looks, which is a pity given the sacrifices of the Irish Army there.
As well as Robert Fisk, Thomas Friedman's "Beirut to Jerusalem" is a compelling and insightful read. I wasn't there during Grapes of Wrath, but many of my colleagues (including one unfortunate at Qana) were and some of the stories coming out of there were pretty horrific.
Regards mate!
Pasha
"To subdue the enemy without using force, is the acme of skill" Sun Tzu.
