Background

Lebanon is located at the crossroads of many different peoples, cultures, and religions. Over the centuries different groups of people have settled and conquered this region time and time again. From the European Crusades to more modern events like the recent invasion by Israel, Lebanon is beset by domestic and foreign influence. Countries like Syria and Iraq have continued to play large roles in the history the entire region, especially within Lebanon [1] [2] [3].

There are several large religious factions within the country including the Christian Maronites and other Christians, the Druze, and the Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Lebanon is a country defined by its religious makeup which has led to much tension between the different groups. After the First World War, France was granted the mandate for the Levant region, of which Lebanon is included [1]. The National Constitution of 1926 required the allocation of government jobs to be by religious affiliation; other later agreements would later add more detail to this document. In 1943, two important treaties were signed, the National Covenant and the National Pact [2] [3]. The first divided up the government positions between the different religious groups. The Maronites received the presidency, the Sunnis received the position of the premier, the Shiites received the position of the speaker of the house, and the rest of the parliamentary seats were divvied up by relative strength of each religious community. The second treaty stated that the Christians were to abandon dependence on France while at the same time the Muslims would give up reliance on Syria [2] [3]. This would be important as Syria continued to have a large influence in Lebanon. In addition, the influx of many Palestinian refugees from the numerous Arab-Isreali conflicts created more tension between religious and cultural groups.

When Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser rose to power in Egypt in 1954, he started a new militant pan-Arab movement to unify all of the Arab countries [4]. Egypt grew to represent strident Arab nationalism opposed to all non-Arab interests in the region. They also closely identified with the Soviet Union who gave them backing while the Western powers created the Baghdad Pact, a defensive agreement between Turkey, Britain, Iran, Pakistan, and Iraq designed against Gamal [4] [5]. President Chamoun, then Lebanon’s leader, tried to mediate the situation to decrease tension between pro and anti Western aligned Middle Eastern countries.

However, his popularity in the region and within his own country declined as he moved closer to supporting Western policies like the Eisenhower Doctrine and refusing to end diplomatic relations with Britain and France during the Suez Crisis. The unification of Syria and Egypt under the flag of the United Arab Republic only continued to escalate tensions. When President Chamoun also sought to seek re-election by amending the Lebanese constitution, the breaking point came when a critic of his administration was assassinated [3] [4] [5]. Opposition forces blamed the government leading to mass riots and upheavals of order. Different religious groups armed themselves and seized local regions descending the entire country into chaos and anarchy. The Lebanese Army could not maintain the peace for fear of dividing along religious lines, thus a request for foreign intervention was lodged with the UN [4] [5]. However, no action was taken because there was not enough evidence of foreign foul play. A coup d’etat in Iraq completely changed the situation with the overthrow of the pro-Western government in power, threatening the entire Western strategic position in the Middle East [5]. President Chamoun then asked the United States and Britain to intervene in Lebanon to restore the peace. The US responded by sending marines to re-establish law and order in 1958 [3].

Summary of Conflict

Tensions in the region had been increasing leading up to the US invasion of Lebanon in 1958. Syria seemed poised to fall to Communism in 1957, and the Iraqi revolution in 1958 by leftist leaning Iraqi officers, upset the delicate power balance in the Middle East [5]. The King of Jordan also feared a similar overthrow of his government, but the US only intervened when President Chamoun of Lebanon requested foreign aid. Operation Blue Bat was intended to bolster the pro-Western Lebanese government of Chamoun and to protect against the interests of Syria and the United Arab Republic [6] [7]. The operation would involve some 14,000 US army personel and marines who quickly moved in-country securing the Beirut International Airport in addition to all of the major cities [6] [7]. There was not any actual ground fighting involving any American military units [6] [7]. The US forces were mostly stationed there to keep the peace by forcing all factions to come to the diplomatic tables. Though, there were elements of rebel forces who attempted to harass American forces throughout the deployment but US forces were under strict shoot to defend orders only [6]. They remained until late 1958 as stable conditions were established by a new government with General Chehab of the Lebanese Army standing at the helm of the country [7].

Lebanon in the Present

The US intervention in 1958 re-established order and control with a legitimate Lebanese government. This new government had to balance the needs and wants of all the different religious and cultural groups in this region, during this increasingly difficult time in the Middle East. Christian and Muslim leaders kept foreign influence out of Lebanon through incidents like the Six-Day War [2]. However, organizations such as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) threatened to destroy the fragile balance of power within the country as they took control of the civilian Palestinian refugee camps and other Lebanese territories [1] [3]. They had support from some Muslims and from Arab-nationalists, eventually mounting raids on Israel from Lebanon.

In 1970, Jordan expelled the PLO from its territories, sending another wave of refugees and fighters into Lebanon further dividing the populace [2]. Syria, then a Communist country allied with the Soviet Union, then announced to the world that they had every intention of seizing Lebanon for their own uses. They encouraged anarchy and chaos within the country by supplying dissident groups and by weakening the Lebanese army. In 1976, Syria invaded the northern part of Lebanon purposely assassinating opposition figures without any resistance [2] [3]. The PLO continued to launch attacks against Israel prompting the Israeli invasion of Southern Lebanon in 1978 leading to much destruction of civilian infrastructure [2]. The Israelis withdrew shortly under international pressure, leaving behind an even bigger power vacuum for the Syrian military to take over.

Israel invaded once again reaching Beirut in 1982 [2]. Finally, a UN task force was deployed into the country to force all sides to stop fighting. They demanded the PLO, Syrian, and Israeli forces leave the country. But, the peace was short lived as the multi-international force was forced to leave the country after rising threats cumulating in the car bomb attack against the that killed 300 US troops [2] [3]. Israeli also withdrew most of its troops back across the border except for manning a small DMZ buffer zone between the two countries. Syrian forces now pushed further forward taking control of the entire Lebanese government after a short, lopsided fight, appointing a proxy government and eliminating any remaining opposition [3]. After instating the proxy government, most of the Lebanese militias were disbanded with the exception of Hezbollah and a few other extremist groups [2]. This would allow Hezbollah to continue its fight against Israel adding more tension into the already turbulent modern history of Lebanon.

The pro-Syrian government used every method available to keep itself in power, arresting and killing anti-Syrian opposition leaders and forces [2]. At this point, Syria controlled almost all of Lebanon without any resistance. In 2000, Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon though groups like Hezbollah continued to operate without impunity in the refugee camps [3]. In 2003, the United States finally lent some recognition to the crisis in Lebanon with the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act [2] [3]. This act stated that the US would treat Lebanon as a national security interest. During this time, opposition forces within Lebanon also grew stronger voicing their opinions against the government. In 2005, the opposition launched a peaceful uprising to liberate Lebanon by holding mass rallies until Syria agreed to pull out [2]. Eventually the pro-Syrian government bowed down to pressure agreeing to withdraw all troops and disband the government the same year. The “Cedar Revolution” ended almost 30 years of Syrian influence and occupation with Lebanon.

However, Syria continues to have major clout within the country. In addition, Hezbollah continues to operate against Israel prompting yet another Israeli invasion in 2006 which ended with many civilians killed and much more infrastructure destroyed [1]. The fact that Hezbollah can operate without much scrutiny from the Lebanese government or by any other forces continues to create tension within the region threatening the still fragile peace in Lebanon.

Analysis of Critical topics

Lebanon has always been beset by religious differences involving Christian sects and Islamic sects all vying for power. While agreements like the National Constitution, the National Pact, and the National Covenant tried to mediate tensions between all the religious groups; they only led to the eventual clashes tearing the country apart time and time again because of how the government positions were appointed by religion. In addition, Western influence has always been stronger in Lebanon than the rest of the Middle East, leading to contention with the rise of Nasser who advocated pan-Arabism. President Chamoun leaned towards the West creating much opposition against his government which finally in 1958, as a result of siding with the West, openly rebelled. In addition, the regular Lebanese military was unable to act because of fears that it might dissolve along religious lines.

The United States intervened in Lebanon as a result of several reasons. First, President Chamoun requested that the US get involved as the UN refused to do anything after not discovering evidence of the threat of foreign aggression from Syria and the United Arab Republic. Secondly, after the Iraqi Revolution the US was afraid of the entire region destabilizing into chaos and anarchy, where the Soviet Union would be pulling the strings with Nasser at the helm. Situations like the Suez Crisis only helped to further this belief. In addition, Western oil supplies in Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries were also being threatened as a result of all pro-Western Arab countries dissolving into strife.

The United States’ intervention in Lebanon was mainly a show of force for the legal government of Lebanon. They had no intention of getting involved into the local politics of the region, except to get all factions to agree to sponsor a new government restoring peace and order. And as a result, no military action occurred involving any US forces. They helped restore the Lebanese government under the leadership of General Chehab. However, because the makeup of Lebanon has not changed, tension has continued to see conflict between all groups. In addition, the occupation by Syria and the numerous Israeli invasions because of Hezbollah have not helped to stabilize Lebanon for the future.

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