Lately, there have been increasing calls from certain quarters in the United States for the Trump administration to target Lebanon because, as proponents of this view put it, the country is controlled by Hezbollah. A common theme is that all of Lebanon merits being treated as a rogue nation since the population is incapable of countering the malign activities of the armed group.
It is indeed true that most Lebanese will not provoke a civil war with Hezbollah to satisfy the party's foes in America or Israel. But it's also worth recalling that the Hezbollah problem has been brewing for a long time. Indeed, Hezbollah took on many of its present characteristics during Lebanon's immediate post-war period in the 1990s, which was defined by a regional consensus blessed by the US.
Lebanon's post-war settlement was the consequence of a broad arrangement that handed the country to Syria, which at the time was preparing to engage in negotiations with Israel over the occupied Golan Heights. The Syrians, seeing the advantages of using Hezbollah in south Lebanon as military leverage over Israel, allowed the party to retain its weapons when all other militias had been disarmed.
During the 1990s, foreign interactions with Lebanon were conducted through Damascus, the final decision-maker on Lebanese matters. For example, in April 1996, when Israel mounted its Grapes of Wrath operation against Hezbollah, the US secretary of state, Warren Christopher, worked out an accord in Syria’s capital to end the fighting that effectively included Hezbollah, Syria and Israel.
The late journalist Samir Kassir had written an article in which he bitterly observed that the Syrian president at the time, Hafez Al Assad, had negotiated with the Americans and Israelis over the blood of the Lebanese. Indeed he had, but he was not alone. Mr Christopher's agreement, the so-called April Understanding, set rules of the game for fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, mainly to protect civilians. While the Lebanese government was a party to the agreement, it had little say in the matter and was, in reality, a cover for Hezbollah.
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In other words, this major achievement for Hezbollah was an agreement mediated in Damascus by the United States, one of whose parties was Israel. For years, Israel would respect the understanding, as would Hezbollah, whose legitimacy was greatly enhanced in the process.
After that, Hezbollah would seek to replicate the understanding in its dealings with the Israelis. It wouldn't succeed formally but after Israel's pull-out from Lebanon in May 2000, a de facto understanding was reached. The party would continue to attack Israeli forces in the Shebaa Farms area with only localised responses from the other side, although the United Nations did not recognise this area as occupied Lebanon. This implicit arrangement would last until 2006.
For a long time, Syria's use of Hezbollah to pressure Israel was accepted by the Israelis and Americans because they regarded it as an acceptable facet of peace talks. Assad was viewed as a cunning leader trying to shape the outcome of negotiations in his favour and it was assumed that once these were concluded, he would bring Hezbollah to heel. But no peace deal was signed and the party took on an increasingly central role after the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005, as Damascus and Tehran used it to maintain their influence in the country.
Does this mean that the United States or Israel was instrumental in Hezbollah's rise? Not quite but at key moments, both countries preferred to deal pragmatically with the reality of the party, which only reinforced Hezbollah at the expense of the Lebanese state. Moreover, Syria paid no penalty whatsoever for allowing the party to accumulate strength, largely because the Israelis and Americans always regarded the Al Assad family as a stabilising force in Lebanon and the region.
That is why the sudden discovery today that Hezbollah poses a major regional threat, coupled with calls to make Lebanon pay a price for this, is alarming in its potential impact. Lebanon already paid a heavy price for Hezbollah when most regional powers, as well as the US, helped perpetuate a post-war order that sanctioned Syrian hegemony over the country and allowed the party to thrive. Back in those days, it was called “integrating Hezbollah into the state”, until it became evident the party saw the state as a way of protecting its independence.
Recognition of this reality is necessary whenever the foolish idea of destroying Lebanon to obliterate Hezbollah comes up. Making Lebanon suffer for the past errors of outside countries that gave leeway to the party and its sponsors, not least the US and Israel, would bring disaster. Hezbollah might be a menace but throwing the Lebanese baby out with the bathwater is no way to resolve it.
Michael Young is editor of Diwan, the blog of the Carnegie Middle East programme, in Beirut
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Race card:
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; 2,200m
7.40pm: Conditions; Dh240,000; 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 2,000m
8.50pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed; Dh265,000; 1,200m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; 1,600m
10pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 1,400m
F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Engine 3.0L V6
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
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Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
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The five pillars of Islam
Six things you need to know about UAE Women’s Special Olympics football team
Several girls started playing football at age four
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
