Lebanon and Syria

    Lebanon has long been caught up in the tumultuous regional politics of the Middle East. In the 1970s, class, religious and ethnic divisions, sharpened by the presence of armed Palestinian refugees, erupted into civil war and led to military intervention by Syria in 1976 and by Israel in the south in 1978. The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 425 in 1978 calling for Israeli withdrawal and establishing the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). In 1982 Israel again invaded, seizing all of Lebanese territory from the southern border to the suburbs of Beirut. The Security Council passed a series of resolutions, notably Resolution 509. Israel eventually withdrew to a large enclave south of the Litani River where Israeli troops remained in occupation for the next 18 years, battling with a local guerilla resistance. After Israeli troops pulled out in 2000, a dispute continued over the Israeli-held border zone Shabaa Farms. Meanwhile, Syria continued its long military presence in the country, giving it a powerful influence over Lebanese politics.

    In September 2004, the United States and France sponsored Resolution 1559 calling on Syria to end its occupation and further calling for the disarmament of Israel' s nemesis, the Shia-based Hizbullah militia. Though a largely symbolic move, the resolution was a reminder of Lebanon's incomplete sovereignty and its vulnerable status as long as Israel remains in occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territory. The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005 sparked anti-Syrian sentiment in Lebanon and touched off mass protests in Beirut. The Security Council responded with Resolution 1595 setting up an international commission of inquiry. Washington was keen to pressure Syria because of perceived Syrian complicity in movement of arms and fighters across Syria's eastern border into US-occupied Iraq. In April, Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon but the government of Bashar al-Asad didn't fully cooperate with the UN investigation panel. On October 31, 2005 the Security Council passed Resolution 1636 calling for Syrian cooperation and setting up sanctions against individuals designated by the Commission as suspected of involvement in the killing of Hariri.

    Though Security Council steps to bring justice in Syria and Lebanon were potentially very positive, such moves were tainted by suspicions that they were motivated primarily by US and Israeli strategic interests. This seemed confirmed when, after Hizbullah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July 2006, Israel launched extremely violent and wide-ranging military attacks, seeking to destroy Hizbullah, while a simultaneouos military campaign was under way directed at Hamas and other Palestinian groups in the Occupied Territories. This new war in Lebanon was comparable in violence and destruction to the war of 1982. On August 11, 2006, after a month of conflict, the UN Security Council unanimously called for an end to the hostilities with resolution 1701. The resolution called for an expansion of UNIFIL, up to 15,000 troops, to monitor the peace, and take over military control after the withdrawal of the Israeli army.

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