Transcript Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution

Lebanon’s Struggle for Peace
and Independence
Outline
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About Lebanon
History of Lebanon
Lebanese Civil War
Political Structure
The Cedar Revolution
About
Lebanon
About Lebanon
 Official Language –
Arabic
 Spoken Languages –
Arabic, French,
English, Armenian
 Capital – Beirut
 Population – 3.8
Million
 Area – 4,036 sq. mi.
 National Emblem –
Lebanon Cedar
‫الجمهور ّية اللبنان ّية‬
History of Lebanon
History of Lebanon
 Lebanon is one of the fifteen present-day countries that
comprise what is considered to be the Cradle of Humanity. It
is the historic home of the Phoenicians, Semitic traders whose
maritime culture flourished there for more than 2,000 years.
The region was a territory of the Roman Empire and during
the Middle Ages was involved in the Crusades. It was then
taken by the Ottoman Empire.
 Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War
I, the League of Nations mandated the five provinces that
make up present-day Lebanon to France.
 Modern Lebanon's constitution, drawn up in 1926, specified a
balance of political power among the major religious groups.
 The country gained independence in 1943, and French troops
withdrew in 1946. Lebanon's history has been marked by
alternating periods of political stability and turmoil
interspersed with prosperity built on Beirut's position as a
regional center for finance and trade.
Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
 Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, was called the
Paris of the Middle East before the outbreak of
the Lebanese Civil War.
Lebanese Civil War
 After the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, Lebanon became home to
more than 110,000 Palestinian refugees who had fled from
Israel. By 1975, they numbered more than 300,000, led by
Yassir Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In the
early 1970s, difficulties arose over the presence of Palestinian
refugees, and full-scale civil war broke out in April 1975,
leaving the nation with no effective central government.
Jerusalem
Lebanese Civil War
 On one side were a number of mostly Maronite
militias. The other side comprised a coalition of
Palestinians, Sunni, and Druze forces. By early
1976, the war was going poorly for the
Maronites, and Syria sent 40,000 troops into
the country to prevent them from being
overrun. By 1978, many of the Maronites had
become convinced that the Syrians were really
occupying Lebanon for reasons of their own,
and by September of that year, they were
openly feuding. The Syrian forces remained in
Lebanon, effectively dominating its
government, into the first years of the twentyfirst century.
Lebanese Civil War
 A multinational force landed in
Beirut on August 20, 1982 to
oversee the PLO withdrawal from
Lebanon and U.S. mediation
resulted in the evacuation of
Syrian troops and PLO fighters
from Beirut.
 This period saw the rise of
radicalism among the country's
different factions, and a number
of landmark terrorist attacks
against American forces, including
the destruction of the United
States Embassy by a truck bomb
and an even deadlier attack on
the U.S. Marines barracks.
Concurrently, in 1982 Hezbollah
was created.
Lebanese Civil War
 1988 and 1989 were years of
unprecedented chaos. As a
result, Lebanon was left with
no President, and two rival
governments that feuded for
power, along with more than
forty private militias.
 The Arab League-sponsored
Taif Agreement of 1989
marked the beginning of the
end of the war. In all, it is
estimated that more than
100,000 were killed, and
another 100,000 handicapped
by injuries, during Lebanon's
15 year war.
Hezbollah
What is Hezbollah?
 Militant Shia terrorist network based in
Southern Lebanon and funded by Iran
 Cited aim is to destroy Israel while
turning Lebanon into a Muslim state
 Call themselves the “Party of God,”
and provide social services to the local
population to garner support
 Active political organization in Lebanon
Creation of Hezbollah
 Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 to drive
out the PLO which had been continually
waging attacks on Israel
 Hezbollah is created with the assistance
of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps to
expel Israel from Lebanon
Area of Hezbollah Control
Hezbollah
Flag
Hezbollah’s Leader
Sayyed Hasan
Nasrallah
• Hezbollah’s
leader since
1992
• Makes
continual
genocidal
speeches
inciting
violence
against Jews
Genocidal Mission
Quotes from Hassan
Nasrallah:
“ The Jews are a cancer which is liable to
spread at any moment.”
“There is no solution to the conflict
except with the disappearance of
Israel.”
“If they all gather in Israel, it will save us
the trouble of going after them
worldwide.”
Partial List of Hezbollah
Attacks
 Carried out 36 suicide attacks in Lebanon
between 1982 and 1986, directed at
American, Israeli, and French forces, killing
659 people.
 Bombed the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon in
1983, killing 63 people
 Bombed the U.S. Marine Beirut barracks in
1983, killing 241 Americans
 Hijacked a Kuwait flight in 1984, killing 4
passengers
 Hijacked TWA flight 847 in 1985, killing a
Navy serviceman
 Bombed a U.S. Embassy vehicle in 2008
 Continual rocket attacks upon Israeli civilian
population centers and kidnappings 1995–
2000 and 2006
Missile Threat to Israel
Hezbollah Tactics
• Hezbollah fires rockets at
Israeli cities and civilian
population centers
• Hezbollah hides their rocket
launchers amongst densely
populated Lebanese civilian areas
to provoke civilian casualties from
Israeli air strikes
• Hezbollah seeks civilian
casualties to aid in their
propaganda campaign against
Israel
The Iranian Connection
A Proxy of Iran
 Hezbollah receives funding and logistical
support from Syria and primarily from Iran
 Iran supplies Hezbollah with weapons and
military training from Iran’s own Islamic
Revolutionary Guard
 Hezbollah takes orders from the Iranian
religious leadership regarding military targets,
tactics, and political actions
 Hezbollah has a defense treaty with Iran and
Syria, where if one entity fights in a conflict or
is attacked, the other entities will come to
each other’s aid to fight in the conflict
Funding and Influence
 Western analysts estimate Hezbollah’s
budget to be $200-$500 million annually
 Hezbollah is funded by Iran, Syria,
charitable organizations, individual
donations, businesses, illegal arms trading,
cigarette smuggling, counterfeiting, credit
card fraud, theft, illegal telephone
exchanges, and drug trafficking
 Hezbollah has active cells in many Western
countries all over the world, and in Israel,
raising money and plotting new attacks on
Americans, Jews, and Westerners
Hezbollah – Greater Threat
than Al Qaeda?
 Former
Homeland
security Chief
Michael Chertoff:
“Someone described
Hezbollah like the Ateam of terrorists in
terms of capabilities,
in terms of range of
weapons they have,
in terms of internal
discipline. To be
honest, they make
Al Qaeda look like a
minor league team.”