Term Paper on "US Role in Present Lebanese Civil War"

Term Paper 6 pages (2152 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

U.S. Role in the Present Lebanese Political Crisis

When Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was assassinated on February 14, 2005, the Middle Eastern country was plunged into a serious crisis that threatens to escalate into a civil war.

The United States was quick to hold Syria responsible for the killing and has put considerable pressure on the Syrian government to withdraw its military forces from Lebanon. The U.S. actions have also encouraged angry protests inside Lebanon by the Christian Maronites and the Druze against Damascus that have been countered by pro-Syrian demonstrations led by the Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah group. The turmoil underlines the dangerous political and religious divisions in the country that have not been eliminated despite a period of relative peace since the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990. In this paper, I shall analyze the U.S. role in the current political crisis in Lebanon and outline the historical background of the crisis.

Background

In order to fully understand the current political crisis in Lebanon and the U.S. role in the development, it is necessary to review its background.

1. Creation of Lebanon:

Before the end of the First World War, the area comprising the present-day Lebanon was part of Syria, rule by the Ottoman Empire. After the defeat of Turkey in the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations mandated Syria to France. The French proceeded to carve the country of Lebanon out of the areas that had a Christian Maronite majority. At that time (circa 1920), the Maronite Christians comprised approximately 40% of the population, the rest being Sunni and Shiite Muslims. (Cole) The French ruled the country under a 'mandate' granted by the League of Nations from 1920-43. During this period as well as the early period of Lebanon's independence, the Maronite Christians were the dominant political force in the country

2. Changing Demographics:

The creation of Israel in 1948 saw the influx of over 100,000 Palestinians (a majority of whom were Muslim) into Lebanon. Most Palestinians were settled into squalid refugee camps in Southern Lebanon and were not granted Lebanese citizenship. More Palestinians came to the country after the 1967 Arab-Israel War and in 1971 after the Black September events; by the early 1970s, the Maronite Christians only constituted about one-third of Lebanon's population

. The Shi'ite population had grown the fastest and wanted greater share of the political power, which the Maronites were won't to give. (Ibid.)

3. The Civil War (1975-1990):

A war broke out in 1975 between the Maronite militia called the Phalange and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) supported by the Shi'ites, Sunni, and Druze population. By 1976, the Maronites were losing the civil war. This worried the Syrians, who were alarmed with the prospect of a PLO dominated Lebanon that would have drawn Syria into battles between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which could threaten Syria's on existence. As a result, President Hafez-al-Assad decided to intervene in Lebanon (after getting a green signal from the U.S. And the Israelis) on the side of the Maronites. The Syrians crushed the Palestinians, occupied Tripoli and Bekaa and tried to impose a ceasefire. The country was virtually divided with the Muslim militias controlling the South and West Beirut and the Christians in control of East Beirut and the Christian section of Mt. Lebanon. Israel felt threatened by the Palestinian concentration in South Lebanon and invaded the country in 1982, purportedly to destroy the PLO bases. The Israelis managed to expel the PLO leadership from Beirut and retained occupation of parts of Southern Lebanon for "security reasons." Although PLO's strength was greatly diminished in Lebanon, the civil war among various sections of the population continued. The Israeli occupation resulted in the growth of the Hezbollah (a Shi'ite) malitia that harrassed the Israelis until they ultimately withdrew from South Lebanon in 2000. An American attempt to intervene in the civil war, as part of an international force, also ended disastrously after devastating suicide attacks on the U.S. Embassy and the headquarters of the U.S. Marines in 1983.

The Lebanese Civil war ultimately ended as a result of efforts by the Arab League that brokered the Taif Agreement of 1989 that resulted in amendments in the Lebanese constitution -- equalizing power between the Christians and Muslims. The civil war ended in 1990 with Syria retaining a strong military force in the country to ensure an uneasy peace. ("Lebanese Civil War," Wikipedia)

The Current Crisis

The current escalating political crisis in Lebanon was precipitated by the crude Syrian maneuver last year to pressurise the Lebanese Parliament into amending the Lebanese constitution in order to extend the term of the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud. The move was widely condemned internationally, in particular by the United States. The moral outrage shown by the United States, however, was more than a little ironic, given the fact that it had attempted an equally dubious move in 1958 to extend the term of the pro-American president Camille Chamoun.

(Zunes)

The ill-advised Syrian move backfired when the Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik al-Hariri, who was an opponent of Lahoud, resigned in protest. It also provided an opportunity to the United States to push through a UN resolution with French support that demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Syrian forces from Lebanon. Hariri was assassinated on February 14, 2005 just when he appeared a strong Prime Ministerial candidate for the May 2005 Parliamentary Elections.

What is the Real U.S. Policy in Lebanon?

The official declared policy of the Bush administration is that it wants true democracy in Lebanon without any foreign (i.e., Syrian) interference. Let us see if this is really the case.

Pro-U.S. Government in Lebanon:

The clear-cut agenda of the United States in Lebanon is to have a Lebanese government that is pro-U.S. rather than pro-Syria. In order to achieve this objective, it wants the Syrian forces to withdraw immediately from the country. While looking for a foot-hold in Lebanon, the Bush administration would not be disinclined to see a "regime change" in Syria, which has been accused of supporting terrorism and developing weapons of mass destruction by the influential neo-cons in the U.S.

Israeli Wish-List for Lebanon:

Such a policy suits the Israelis too who want the Syrians cut down to size. The reasons why Israel would want this are several. One, Damascus has provided sanctuary to Palestinian groups that have opposed Israel, including the Islamist organization Hamas; it has also failed to curb the growing influence of the Lebanese Shiite movement, Hezbollah, that is a mainstream political party in Lebanon but are considered "terrorists" by both the Israelis and the U.S. Two, Israel envisages that forcing the Syrian troops out of Lebanon would weaken Hezbollah and make Israel's northern border safe. Most of all, Israel hopes that a pro-U.S. (read pro-Israel) regime in Lebanon can be pressured into granting citizenship to the 400,000 Palestinian refugees in the country; a move that would undermine their right to return to Palestine from where they were expelled by the Israelis. (Auken)

The Neo-con Agenda:

The neo-conservatives in Washington are known to have deep links with the Israelis (particularly the Likud Party) and are committed to furthering their aims. Having considerable influence on the current U.S. administration, the neo-cons are in a position to influence U.S. Middle East policy. It is no surprise, therefore, that Washington and Tel Aviv are in full sync on Lebanon and Syria.

Does Syria Gain from the Hariri Assassination?

Despite the fact that Hariri had favored an independent Lebanon with minimum Syrian intervention, is it plausible that the Baathist regime in Damascus would risk assassinating Hariri at a time when it was already under considerable U.S. pressure on several fronts? The Pentagon has long accused the Syrian regime of harboring and supporting Iraqi Baathists who are resisting the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The UN Security Council Resolution sponsored by the U.S. And France last September, calls for withdrawal of foreign forces (read Syrian) from Lebanon and the U.S. was already calling for sanctions against Damascus for violating the UN resolution. Would the Syrians take such an ill-advised risk by assassinating Hariri in such a precarious situation? The obvious answer to the question is -- no.

The U.S. Accusation against Syria: A Political Ploy?

Why was the U.S. then in a hurry to point the finger against the Syrians so soon after Mr. Hariri's assassination? Did they have evidence of the Syrian involvement? This is highly unlikely as the U.S. White House spokesman was accusing Syria of the assassination just hours after the killings. The U.S. has completely disregarded Syria's vehement denials of its involvement and, rather surprisingly, ignored the suggestion that Al-Qaeda may be behind the killings because of Hariri's well-known ties to the Saudi monarchy. (Kay) Hariri had also made a number of enemies during his tenures as the country's PM as he had promoted the big business interests while ignoring the poorest classes. It is, therefore, more than… READ MORE

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