FREE ESSAY ON LEBANON

LEBANON

The republic of Lebanon, located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, is
bordered in the north and east by Syria, and bounded by Israel on the south. One of the
smaller countries in the Middle East, Lebanon's area measures 4036 square miles. The
country is 135 miles long, and its width is only 50 miles at its widest point. About 89%
of Lebanon's 3,619,971 citizens live in urban areas. Beirut has regained most of its
prewar population and is still the country's largest city. The northern port city of
Tripoli is the second largest city, followed by Juniyah, north of Beirut. Becoming
independent after World War II, Lebanon flourished under its western free-market economy,
and was frequented by tourists from all parts of the globe until its civil war.
With stringent laws regarding secrecy in banking, Beirut became the Middle East's banking
and investment center. During the war, the rest of the Middle East experienced an
economic boom, and businesses moved from Beirut to other Middle East economic centers.
Since the end of the war in 1991, Lebanon's economy has begun to revive. Its Gross
Domestic Product reached upwards of $17.2 billion in 1998, and has been increasing by an
average of 7.7% annually since 1990. Much of this growth can be attributed to Horizon
2000, a multibillion-dollar reconstruction program sponsored by the government to rebuild
Beirut's central district. Exports go mainly to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, France, Italy, and the United States. Imports come from
Italy, the United States, Germany, France, Syria, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
Lebanon's chief exports are food and food products, paper products, chemicals, textiles,
jewelry, and metal products. Imports to Lebanon include automobiles, trucks, heavy
equipment, communications equipment, electronic goods, appliances, machinery, and
petroleum and petroleum products. 
Religion in Lebanon is does not only serve as one's preference in worship, but also
determines one's social and political identification. Approximately, 95 % of Lebanese are
Arabs; Armenians are the primary minority. Muslims make up about 70% of the population,
and are mainly divided into the Sunni, Shia, and Druze sects. Christians make up about
30% of the population, and many belong to the Maronite sect In Lebanon, each sectarian
group has its own agenda, political culture, and sworn leaders. Most of the populist
speaks Arabic, but its dialect changes some depending on the sect. In addition, English,
French, and Armenian are also spoken. Each religion also wants to put Lebanon on a
different course. Christians favor the country to have closer ties with Europe, while the
Muslims favor closer ties with their Arab neighbors. 
However, outside interference by several neighbors, along with the general tensions in
the Middle East incited a brief civil war in 1958. Fearing the war may spread from this
former British and French controlled colony, the U.S. landed 14,000 Marines on beaches
south of Beirut in July 1958. The Marines' presence helped stabilize the country, and by
early August the fighting was finished. After the war, Fouad Chehab, restored confidence
and advanced Lebanon's economic boom. His successor in 1964, Charles Helou, continued
much of Chehab's programs but was thwarted by the severe aftereffects of the Six Day War
in 1967 with Israel. The war sent another wave of Palestinian refugees to Lebanon.
Although Helou kept Lebanon neutral, the fighting and other Middle East tensions
triggered complex domestic conflicts. Neither Helou nor his successor after 1970,
Sulayman Franjiyah, could stop them. In 1972 the Palestinian Liberation Organization
(PLO) opened its headquarters in Beirut. From southern Lebanon, the PLO launched
hit-and-run attacks on northern Israel. 
Lebanon's Civil War began on April 13, 1975, when Muslim gunmen killed several Christian
Phalangists at a Beirut church. In revenge the Phalangists, ambushed a busload of
Palestinians, killing 27. More brutal battles occurred, prompting military intervention
by Syria. A ceasefire in November 1976 temporarily calmed the situation down. However,
the PLO continued its attacks on northern Israel. The Israelis responded by invading
southern Lebanon in March 1978, and a self-proclaimed security zone on the southern
border of Lebanon, which was manned by the South Lebanon Army (SLA), a Lebanese militia
sympathetic to Israel. Unfortunately between 1980 and 1982, fighting again intensified in
Beirut. In a goal "pacify" the Palestinians and punish Lebanon for hosting them, Israel
launched "Operation Peace for Galilee," a full-scale invasion of Lebanon, in June 1982.
Israel pushed north to Beirut forcing international mediation, which led to the
evacuation of thousands of PLO troops and Syrians from Beirut and Tripoli. A
multinational force made up of U.S., French, British, and Italian troops tried to
stabilize the situation. Fighting continued sporadically, and in October 1983 more than
300 U.S. and French troops were killed by a truck bomb in Beirut. The bombing prompted
the multinational force to withdraw. Violence continued from 1983 to 1985 when Israel
withdrew most of its 1983 invasion forces, again leaving a small occupying force in the
south. However, a new extremist group, Hezbollah (Party of God), resumed attacks on
Israel. The fighting eased between 1986 and 1988, but hostage-taking amid near-anarchy
became commonplace. 
The beginning of the end of the war came when Lebanon's parliamentarians met in AtTa'if,
Saudi Arabia, in October 1989, where they reached the Ta'if Agreement for a National
Reconciliation Charter. They elected a new president, Rene Moawad, who was assassinated
17 days later and replaced by Elias Hrawi. By October of 1990, the fighting was over. The
new Government of National Reconciliation began the delicate task of disarming the
militias and restoring stability. In a decade and a half of war, an estimated 130,000 to
150,000 people were killed, 200,000 were wounded, and the country suffered an estimated
$25 billion to $30 billion in damage and lost revenues.
Even though the war is over, Lebanese are still subject to 35,000 Syrian occupation
troops, and indirect political control by Syria's new leader Bashar al-Assad. The
continued presence of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and of Hezbollah
guerillas in the recently evacuated Israeli securtity zone in the south still hampers the
country's recovery. Its peace process with Israel has been stalled due to Syria's
intransigence with Israeli and American negotiators. Yet in the recent elections, the
Syrian-backed, incumbent candidate, Lahoud was voted out of office and replaced by Hrawi.

The country is still governed under a 1926 constitution with amendments that have been
added over the years. The unicameral legislature (the National Assembly) has 128 members,
half Christian and half Muslim, and is elected every four years by universal adult
suffrage. Under the constitution, the president, who appoints the prime minister is
elected by the legislature for a six-year term. There have been no repercussions since
the election, which means Lebanon may be starting to creep out of Syria's shadow, and may
soon begin to formulate its own policies. 
Bibliography
1. http://www.encarta.msn.com
2. A Country Study : Lebanon . Federal Research Division: Library of Congress, 1989
3. http://www.lebanon-online.com.lb/index.shtml