![[CRS Issue Brief for Congress]](iblogo.gif)
The parliament met on September 30, 1989, in Taif, Saudi Arabia, to devise a reform program that would resolve the political problem. On November 5, 1989, 58 members of the National Assembly met at al-Qulayat, Lebanon, to elect Rene Muawwad to be President of Lebanon and to implement the reforms accepted in Saudi Arabia. President Muawwad appointed Salim al-Huss to be Prime Minister. On November 22, 1989, President Muawwad was assassinated. Ilyas al-Hirawi was elected President on November 24, and immediately named Salim al-Huss to be Prime Minister. Lebanon appeared to be returning to orderly government after General Awn left the Presidential palace on October 13, 1990, after a Syrian army attack, to seek asylum at the French embassy. Under a Syrian-brokered agreement, Lebanese militia forces began leaving Beirut in late November 1990, relinquishing their positions to the Lebanese Army. Lebanon's government is based on a 1943 agreement that Lebanon would have a Maronite Christian President, a Sunni Muslim Prime Minister, and a Shia Muslim Speaker of the National Assembly, and that National Assembly seats and civil service jobs would be distributed according to a ratio of 6 Christians to 5 Muslims. On August 21, 1990, the Lebanon National Assembly adopted some of the Taif reforms; the parliament was increased to 108 (later raised to 128), to be divided evenly between Christians and Muslim-Druze, Presidential authority was decreased, and the Speaker's and the Prime Minister's authority was increased. President Hirawi signed the constitutional amendment implementing the reforms on September 21, 1990. In May 1991, the Lebanese army began deploying into Lebanon's central mountains.
According to estimates, more than 100,000 people have died, another 200,000 have been wounded, 250,000 have emigrated to avoid the fighting, and as many as one-third of the 3 million population have been refugees in the Lebanon civil war from 1975 to the present. Syrian armed forces, invited into Lebanon in 1976 to prevent a Muslim attack on the Christians, continue to occupy the northern and eastern parts of the country. Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon in 1978, remaining for 3 months, and invaded again in 1982, withdrawing most of the forces in 1985. Israel occupies a 5-mile wide strip of Lebanese territory along the Israel-Lebanon border.
Lebanon elected 128 members of the Parliament in 1992 and 1996. members of the
Beginning in early March, increasing hostilities between the Hizballah militia and Israeli armed forces in southern Lebanon led to an April 11 Israeli artillery, naval, and air barrage against Lebanon, followed by 15 days of artillery and rocket exchanges. It has been estimated that between 150 and 200 Lebanese were killed, between 340 and 400 Lebanese were wounded, and between 400,000 and 500,000 evacuated their homes to flee north away from the Israeli artillery. About 45 Israelis were wounded and another 20,000 Israelis evacuated south to escape the Hizballah Katyusha rockets. On April 26, Israel and Lebanon announced a U.S.-French brokered cease-fire that includes deploying a five nation (United States, France, Lebanon, Israel, Syria) cease-fire monitoring group. On September 25, 1996, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on Lebanon. The Department of State announced on August 7, 1996, that the travel ban, which began in 1987, would be extended for another six months, until February 28, 1997 (Fed. Reg. August 22, 1996, 43395).
The "National Covenant," an unwritten agreement negotiated among Lebanese political leaders in 1943, provided for the President to be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister to be a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies (renamed the National Assembly in 1979) to be a Shia Muslim. The National Covenant also provided that parliament seats and civil service jobs be distributed on the basis of 6 Christians to 5 Muslims (including Druze, a separate religious group often associated with Islam). The President usually selects cabinet ministers to reflect the balance among Lebanon's religious communities distributing the portfolios among the Maronites, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholics, Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Sunni, Shia, and Druze. The Christian-to-Muslim job ratio and the confessional assignment of government positions was based on the population as determined in the 1932 census.
According to the 1926 constitution, the people elect the parliament, the parliament elects a President, and the President selects a Prime Minister and between 18 and 25 members of the cabinet, which then must receive a vote of confidence from the parliament. The President, serving a 6-year, non-renewable term, does not have to win votes of confidence. The President may propose laws, is responsible for implementing laws, but may delay implementing laws passed by parliament by demanding additional debate, adjourning parliament, or calling for new elections.
National Assembly deputies are elected for 4-year terms from 26 electoral districts. The total number and religious affiliations of deputies from each district are determined by the population of the district. All voters vote for all candidates regardless of the voter's or the candidate's religion. The National Assembly elected in 1972 was composed of 53 Christians, 45 Muslim and Druze, and 1 to represent other minorities. The civil war that began in 1975 delayed the 1976 election until August/September 1992, when Lebanon, operating under a reform program adopted in 1989, elected a new National Assembly of 128 members, evenly divided between Christians and Muslim/Druze.
Lebanese groups have developed political parties along religious, geographical, ethnic, ideological, foreign affiliation, or other lines. In general, Christian groups are more conservative and better organized. The leading Christian parties (all led by Maronite Christians) are the Phalange, led by the Jumayyil family, the National Bloc, led by the Iddi family, the National Liberal Party, led by the Shamun family, and the Maradah, led by the Franjiyah family. Leading Muslim parties are the Shia Muslim Amal, the Shia Hizballah, the Sunni Independent Nasirite Movement, and the Progressive Socialist Party (primarily composed of Druze). Another party, the Syrian National Socialist Party (favors union with Syria), is predominantly Muslim although it has had some Greek Orthodox leaders. Political parties form alliances and coalitions, usually temporary and subject to shifting issues, foreign influence, and personality clashes. Many of the political parties or other groups have armed militias for protection. In 1975, an incident between Palestinians and Phalangist Christians triggered a civil war that pitted conservatives against liberals and Muslims against Christians.
In recent years, the Lebanese political community also divided between the old guard elites who practiced politics under the traditional family-led parties, and younger, modern reformers or dissidents who formed political blocs based more on issues and ideologies. For example, the Phalange (traditionally conservative Maronite Christian) separated into factions, one led by George Saadeh and maintaining its allegiance to the Jumayyil family in the traditional manner, another following a Jumayyil lieutenant, Samir Jaja, who broke away in a personality and power struggle to form the Lebanese Forces, and a third, the Al-Wad party of Eli Hubayqah, who broke away from Jaja. Similarly, dissident leaders of Amal, the Shia Muslim party, broke away to form the more radical Movement of the Deprived, and another radical faction broke away to form the Islamic Amal group. Hizballah, which started as a branch of the Iranian religious group, was associated with hostage seizures and terrorism and was involved in a 2-year war with Amal vying for control of Lebanon's Shia Muslims. Hizballah and Amal resolved their differences and formed an alliance for the 1992 elections, with the coalition winning enough seats to dominate the Shia Muslim bloc in the new Parliament. Amal and Hizballah formed a similar alliance in the 1996 election, but Hizballah lost ground, going from 8 members and four supporters in 1992 to 7 members and two supporters in 1996.
Lebanon was the trading, banking, and entertainment center of the Middle East, with a free enterprise economy and a laissez faire government. The 1975-1976 civil war sharpened the existing lines separating regions and communities and curtailed the central government's capacity to regulate or monitor the economy. The war overwhelmed the central government's ability to provide medical treatment, education, or other central services. Militias and political/religious parties assumed control of economic affairs in their areas; thus, the Druze controlled economic matters in the Shuf southeast of Beirut, the Phalangist Maronites ran the economy on Mount Lebanon, the Shia in the south, and so forth. Militias collected taxes and tariffs, provided services, distributed payments, operated their own seaports, banks, and markets, and engaged in international trade. A primary task facing the central government with the end of the civil war in 1990 was to regain control over the economy.
The economy has shown signs of improvement in recent years. In 1974, inflation was 3.6% per year and the U.S. dollar was worth about 3 Lebanese pounds; in 1989, inflation reached between 600% and 700% per year, and in May 1992, the exchange rate reached 2,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar. At the end of 1993, inflation fell to 8.9%, and the exchange rate was 1,711 pounds to the dollar and falling. Consumer prices rose 12% in 1994, a setback from the lower rate the year before. The economy grew at a rate of 7% for 1993 and 8.5% for 1994. Interest rates are falling and unemployment is declining from the 35% in 1992. Prime Minister Hariri's plan to rebuild the center of Beirut was oversubscribed by 50% in January 1994 (6.5 million shares offered at $100 per share). $4.2 billion in foreign capital entered Lebanon in 1993, and the figure rose to $6.5 billion in 1994. After reaching a level of 1600 Lebanese pounds to the dollar in 1994, the pound fell again in early 1995 on reports that Hariri's government would fall. After the change in government on May 25, 1995, the pound stabilized at 1625 to the dollar. In mid-1996, Lebanon showed a balance of payments surplus and a reduced balance of trade deficit. Construction continued to lead the economic revival.
From 1975 to 1992, the civil war has killed approximately 100,000, wounded 200,000, left another 100,000 permanently disabled, and forced 250,000 into exile. (There is no accurate data, no breakdown by year, community, sex, etc., for the casualties.) It is estimated that as many as one-third of Lebanon's 3 million people have been war refugees at one time or another.
On August 18, 1988, the Lebanese National Assembly did not muster the 51-member quorum needed to elect a successor to President Amin Jumayyil, whose 6-year term expired on September 23, 1988. On most occasions in the past, political leaders and National Assembly deputies agreed beforehand on the candidate for President, making the actual National Assembly election little more than a ceremony formalizing what had been decided in the inner circles of Lebanese politics. But, in 1988, the various political leaders could not agree on a candidate for president and many of the Christian deputies boycotted the Assembly session. A few moments before his term expired on September 23, 1988, outgoing President Jumayyil appointed Army Commander-in-Chief General Michel Awn to be the prime minister. General Awn named five other army officers to serve with him in the cabinet, a Greek Orthodox, a Greek Catholic, a Druze, a Sunni Muslim, and a Shia Muslim. The Muslim and Druze officers refused to serve in the Awn cabinet because Awn was a Christian (a transgression of the National Covenant that called for a Sunni Prime Minister) and because the existing cabinet, under Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Salim al-Huss, had not resigned. Al-Huss had been serving as the acting Prime Minister since the June 1987 assassination of Prime Minister Rashid Karami. Four of the five Christian members of the al-Huss cabinet resigned following the formation of the Awn cabinet. Al-Huss appointed General Sami al-Khatib to be the interim Lebanon Armed Forces (LAF) Commander-in-Chief. The LAF then had two Commanders-in-Chief, the Christian Awn and the Muslim al-Khatib, to complete a confessional division of the LAF, with five brigades (probably enough men for two full brigades) following Christian officers into east Beirut and the Maronite enclave of Mount Lebanon and four brigades (two full brigades) following Muslim officers into west Beirut and south to Sidon.
On October 18, 1988, the National Assembly met to elect a new Speaker to replace Husayn al-Husayni upon the completion of his 1-year term. Once elected, the first task of the new Speaker would be to preside over the Assembly session that would elect a new president, providing the politicians had agreed upon a candidate. But the Assembly again failed to muster a quorum; a new Speaker was not elected. Al-Husayni acted as an interim Speaker until such time as the Assembly met again to elect a speaker.
Lebanon had no President, two Prime Ministers and two cabinets, two army Commanders-in-Chief and a divided army, a National Assembly 13 years overdue for elections, two interim speakers but no permanent speaker of the National Assembly, and no immediate prospect of reconvening the parliament for an attempt to resolve the situation. The government was in a stalemate.
In early 1989, Amal ("hope") and Hizballah ("party of God") resumed their sporadic fighting to determine which would dominate Lebanon's Shia Muslims, and LAF elements under General Awn engaged Samir Jaja's Maronite Lebanese Forces. By March 1989, Hizballah and Awn's forces prevailed, setting the stage for the political battles that followed over the next 2 years. On March 14, 1989, General Awn announced that he would drive the Syrians out of Lebanon, and directed the LAF and Lebanese Force artillery to open fire on Syrian army positions along the Beirut-Damascus highway and in west Beirut. Apparently, Awn assumed that outside forces friendly to Lebanon's Christian right, such as France, Israel, or the United States, would intervene, stop the fighting, and pressure Syria to withdraw from Lebanon. But, the outsiders did not intervene, and Syrian forces and their Shia Muslim and Druze allies returned fire.
In September 1989, after 9 months of consultations, an Arab League committee secured a cease-fire and an agreement for a National Assembly meeting in Taif, Saudi Arabia, to discuss governmental reforms. On September 30, 1989, 62 members of the Lebanese parliament met in Taif to begin discussions of government reforms. On October 22, 1989, the Deputies agreed to a reform plan that raised the number of seats in the National Assembly from 99 up to 108, evenly divided between Christians and Muslim/Druze, left appointment of the Prime Minister to the parliament, called for disbanding and disarming the militias, and included a statement that Syria would begin troop withdrawal discussions within 2 years. The National Assembly Deputies elected a new Speaker, Husayn al-Husayni, and President, Rene Muawwad, and approved the reform package on November 5, 1989, at a meeting in al-Qulayat in north Lebanon. On November 20, 1989, President Muawwad appointed Salim al-Huss to be Prime Minister, and named a 14-member cabinet. On November 22, 1989, President Muawwad was assassinated by a car bomb as he left Lebanese Independence Day ceremonies in West Beirut. On November 24, the Deputies met in Shtawra to elect Ilyas al-Hirawi as the new President. Al-Hirawi named Salim al-Huss to be the Prime Minister and General Emile Lahhud to be Army Commander-in-Chief. Awn, besieged at the Presidential palace, refused to recognize the new President. In early 1990, Awn and the LAF again attacked Jaja and his Lebanese forces, Amal and Hizballah resumed fighting, and pro-Arafat Palestinians confronted pro-Syrian Palestinians.
On August 21, 1990, 48 of 51 National Assembly deputies meeting in Beirut approved changing the National Assembly to 108 members, evenly divided between Christians and Muslim-Druze, agreed to decrease the authority of the President by giving executive authority to implement decisions to the Council of Ministers, and agreed to increase the authority of the Speaker and the Prime Minister. President Hirawi signed the constitutional amendment on September 21, 1990, implementing the reforms. Many Christian leaders and General Awn opposed the reform, which followed the Taif proposals of September 1989.
In early October 1990, Syrian tanks and infantry moved into Beirut and surrounded the Presidential palace at Baabda, where General Awn was besieged. On October 13, Syrian aircraft strafed and bombed the palace, driving Awn to the French embassy, where he requested political asylum. Awn's departure appeared to end the 2-year stalemate, and open the way for the reform government under President Hirawi to take full control of the government of Lebanon. On October 21, assassins killed National Liberal Party leader Dani Shamun and his family, an act that some believed would set back the conciliation process. But on October 26, Jaja's Lebanese Forces, Jumblat's Druze, and Birri's Amal agreed to withdraw their militias from west Beirut, a sign that the peaceful transition would continue. The Lebanese Forces began their withdrawal from Beirut on November 24, the last of the militias to leave the capital to the Lebanese Army.
Acting Prime Minister Salim al-Huss resigned on December 19, 1990, opening the way for President Hirawi to designate Umar Karami as Prime Minister on December 20, 1990. Karami named a one-half Christian, one-half Muslim 30-man cabinet on December 24, which included the heads of the 5 major militias, but the Christian militia leaders refused to join the interim government. One test of the new government appeared on February 6, 1991, when President Hirawi deployed some 1,000 members of the Lebanese Armed Forces south to Sidon to displace Palestinian elements who had fired rockets at Israeli positions in the so-called security zone. It was the first time in 16 years that the LAF had deployed into south Lebanon and extended the government's rule south of Sidon.
In early March 1991, the cabinet attacked other problems, such as forming an economic and social council to address the economy, reopened the port of Beirut and established a maritime commission to oversee port activities, began the task of disarming the militias, and merged the Lebanese Armed Forces brigades to end the religious divisions. In line with an understanding between Defense Minister Michel al-Murr and the commander of the Lebanese Forces, on May 1 the Army deployed into the central Lebanon stronghold of the Lebanese Forces and the militia surrendered its heavy weapons to the army. Car bombs destroyed an American University building on November 8 and killed 15 and injured 120 in Beirut on December 30.
Lebanon participated in the Madrid peace talks on October 30, 1991, but progress in the bilateral Israel-Lebanon talks depends upon the Israeli-Syrian talks. The Israel- Lebanon talks hinge on one issue: Lebanon seeks an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, and Israel will not agree to withdraw until Syria also withdraws. Observers note that Israel and Lebanon have no border disputes, and could agree to a peace treaty similar to the Memorandum of Understanding they signed in 1983. Meanwhile, Lebanon follows Syria's lead and boycotts the multilateral talks.
Political tensions in Lebanon increased after the Israelis killed Hizballah leader Abbas Musawi on February 16, 1992. In May, the collapsing Lebanese pound triggered strikes and a loss of confidence in the Karami government, and focussed interest on the forthcoming National Assembly elections. Beginning in mid-July 1992, Maronite Patriarch Sfayr, General Awn (from exile in Paris), Phalange leader George Saadeh, National Liberal Party leader Dori Shamun (brother of the assassinated Dani Shamun), and other Maronites opined that the elections tentatively scheduled for September 1992 should be delayed until after Syria agreed to withdraw troops from Beirut. (The Taif agreement called for Lebanese-Syrian withdrawal discussions and National Assembly elections 2 years after the accords were ratified, which occurred on September 21, 1990.) The Maronites believed that the Syrian military presence would intimidate voters and would extend the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. On July 16, 1992, the parliament passed a law raising the number of National Assembly seats from 108 to 128, confirmed the four-year term of office, and extended the present National Assembly through 1994 if no election were held in 1992. On July 24, the Cabinet announced elections for August 23, August 30, and September 6. Syrian officials said the elections should go on as scheduled, and that Syria would not withdraw from Beirut in the near future even if the withdrawal discussions were held. The Maronites announced an election boycott and called for general strikes on the election days in the belief that the election would be postponed until after the Syrians agreed to withdraw from Beirut. Many, but not all, Maronites running for office withdrew their names, and most Maronites stayed away from the polls, but enough candidates remained on the ballots and enough voters appeared on election days to elect a full slate of deputies for the National Assembly. One make-up election was held on October 11 for 5 Maronites from Kasrawan, including former Foreign Minister Faris Buways who had changed his mind and decided to run after having resigned in August to protest the Syrian presence.
The Maronite strategy appeared to backfire. The withdrawal talks were not held and the Syrians did not withdraw from Beirut. The elections went on as scheduled despite the Maronite boycott, and enough candidates and voters broke ranks with the mainstream Maronites to elect the necessary number of Christians to the National Assembly. In the end, the other Lebanese ignored the Maronite boycott and general strikes, and more pro-Syrian Deputies were elected than would have been the case if the mainstream Maronites had remained in the race. Some believe the mainstream Maronites needlessly sacrificed their opportunity to serve in the new Government, although others believe that the Maronites, with their power and political skills, will use their influence to make sure their traditional Maronite views are represented. And for some Lebanese, the elections may have produced another ominous note. In June, Amal and Hizballah resolved some of their differences and agreed to cooperate in the elections in southern Lebanon. Amal-Hizballah candidates did well in the southern constituencies, and emerged from the election with the strongest voting bloc in the new National Assembly.
The newly elected National Assembly met as scheduled on October 20, and elected Amal leader Nabih Birri to be the Speaker of the Parliament. On October 22, 1992, following consultations with National Assembly members and Speaker Birri, President Hirawi named Rafiq al-Hariri to be Prime Minister. Hariri named a 30-member cabinet on October 31, consisting of a mix of new technocrats and old line politicians, and a mix of Maronites, Greek Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenians, Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, and Druze. Prime Minister Hariri said the cabinet's first task would be restoring the economy.
On December 16 and 17, 1992, Israel deported 415 Palestinian members of Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) from the occupied territories into the Israeli security zone of southern Lebanon. Lebanon refused to allow the deportees to enter Lebanese- controlled territory, forcing the Palestinians to remain in the no-man's-land between Lebanese and Israeli forces. Israel expelled the Palestinians in retaliation for a Hamas kidnapping and murder of an Israeli border policeman on December 13. The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed resolution 799 on December 18, 1992, which condemned the Israeli action and called for Israel to return the deportees to the occupied territories.
The stalemate over the Palestinian deportees along the Lebanon-Israel border continued. Israel allowed the Red Cross to evacuate 2 deportees on January 9, 17 more on January 23, and on February 1 offered to evacuate an additional 101 immediately and the rest after one year, but the Palestinians rejected the offer. Secretary of State Christopher carried Egyptian President Mubarak's proposal -- that Israel return 100 deportees immediately, and the remainder in April and June when the peace talks resumed -- to Lebanon on his February 22 surprise visit to Beirut, but the proposal foundered.
In mid-March, Prime Minister Hariri announced that the economic plan was ready for debate by the parliament. Hariri said the total cost for rebuilding Lebanon would be about $15 billion, and that some of the funds would come from foreign aid, some from overseas investors, and the majority from Lebanon.
In retaliation for the deaths of 7 IDF, Israel launched air attacks against Hizballah military targets in southern Lebanon on July 25, and added artillery and naval bombardments over the next 7 days, targeting between 70 and 80 civilian villages as well as Hizballah military installations. According to Israeli Prime Minister Rabin, the reason for bombarding the civilian targets was to force a wave of refugees north to Beirut, which would in turn compel the Lebanese Government to stop Hizballah. By July 31, some 370 Hizballah rockets killed 3 and wounded 28 Israelis in southern Lebanon and northern Israel, and 35,000 Israeli artillery rounds and 1,200 aerial bombs and missiles killed more than 130 Lebanese, wounded 525, drove 250,000 Lebanese from their homes, destroyed 10,000 homes and damaged another 30,000, and did an estimated $600 million in damage. The Government of Lebanon sent the Lebanese Armed Forces into the UNIFIL zone to strengthen the buffer between the Israelis and the PFLP- GC/Hizballah forces and to disarm some Hizballah militiamen. Israel claimed the attacks on Lebanon were self-defense. Some observers asked if the Israeli use of U.S.- supplied weapons fit the definition of "legitimate self-defense" in Section 4 of the Arms Export Control Act, and if Israel's purposeful targeting of civilians fit the definition of terrorism.
As a result of negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials, 197 deportees left the "no-man's-land" on December 15, 1993, to return to Israeli custody. Eighteen deportees refused to return to Israeli prisons and fled into Lebanon. The same day, Presidents Assad and Hirawi announced that Syria and Lebanon would return to the peace talks in January 1994.
Lebanon participated in the resumed peace talks in Washington on January 24, 1994, but suspended participation following the February 25 shooting incident at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron when a Jewish fanatic killed about 30 Muslims. On February 27, a bomb killed 11 and wounded 60 in a Maronite church in Junieh. Press sources blamed the Christian and conservative Lebanese Forces, but LF leader Samir Jaja denied the accusations. Jaja and several LF members were arrested on April 21, 1994 and charged with the church bombing and involvement in several political assassinations. To avoid heightened tensions, Prime Minister Hariri's Government banned press reports about the bombing, but the parliament overruled the Prime Minister and voted to remove the press ban.
Despite the continuing political conflict among Prime Minister Hariri, President Hirawi, and Speaker Birri, Lebanon began the rebuilding process and registered some limited economic gains. In late April, a spokesman for Rafik Hariri said the Prime Minister would retire for health reasons at the end of the year. Hariri has threatened to resign in the past, in May and December 1994. On May 19, 1995, the Prime Minister resigned. President Hirawi asked Hariri to form a new cabinet, which Hariri did on May 25, using the opportunity to remove some Ministers who the Prime Minister believed were holding up the rebuilding plans. Hariri's critics claim the Prime Minister is favoring his business associates with rebuilding contracts. Press stories in August revived the rumor that Hariri was considering resigning because of conflicts with Speaker Birri.
On October 11, 1995, Syrian President al-Assad announced that President Hirawi's term would be extended for three years, despite the constitutional ban on Presidents serving longer that six years. Many saw the Syrian announcement as proof that al- Assad controlled events in Lebanon, but others believed the term extension was necessary to preserve Lebanon's stability.
The number of incidents between Hizballah, the Shia Muslim Lebanese militia, and the Israeli Defense Forces and their clients, the South Lebanon Army, increased in early March. On April 11, Israel began an air, artillery, and naval barrage aimed at Lebanese targets as far north as Beirut. For the next 15 days, Hizballah fired between 500 and 1,000 Katyusha rockets at northern Israel and Israel fired some 24,000 artillery shells and launched 600 air strikes at Lebanon. Israel suffered some 50 wounded and 20,000 Israelis fled south to avoid the Katyushas. Lebanon suffered between 150 and 200 killed, between 300 and 400 wounded, and between 400,000 and 500,000 Lebanese evacuated their homes and fled north to escape the Israeli onslaught. On April 26, Lebanon and Israel announced a French-U.S. brokered cease-fire. Under the cease-fire, Hizballah and Israel agreed not to fire at civilians or use civilian areas as cover, Hizballah agreed not to fire at Israel, and both agreed to a cease-fire monitoring committee of France, the United States, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. The monitoring group deployed on August 8, 1996.
The National Assembly passed an election law on 11 July 1996, that named the five provinces as election districts, but subdivided Mount Lebanon into six sub-districts. Ten Assembly members petitioned the Constitutional Court claiming the election law violated the constitutional principle of equality among Lebanese, and the Court upheld their petition. A second law passed on August 13 was similar to the first, but stipulated that the law would apply only to the 1996 election. Members failed to acquire the necessary ten signatures on a petition to challenge the new law. The elections began on August 18, 1996, and ran for five consecutive Sundays; voter turn out was about 44%. Lebanon elected a pro-Government (and pro-Syrian in the view of many) Parliament without a repeat of the 1992 Maronite boycott.
On July 15, 1958, President Eisenhower told Congress that he deployed U.S. Armed Forces to assist the Lebanese army because Lebanon had "...been deemed vital to United States national interests and world peace." (Public Papers of the Presidents, 1958, p. 550-551) On October 24, 1983, the day after 241 U.S. Armed Forces personnel were killed in Beirut, President Reagan said "...We have vital interests in Lebanon... ." (Public Papers of the Presidents, 1983, vol. II, p. 1501) In retrospect, it might be argued that the two Presidents exaggerated Lebanon's importance, that Lebanon was not "vital" to U.S. interests in the region, and that the Eisenhower and Reagan hyperbole reflected the crisis atmospheres in which they acted more than a realistic assessment of U.S. interests. If not "vital," Lebanon remains important to the United States. For many Americans, Lebanon is an old friend, anti-communist and pro-Western, a trading and business partner, a democratic and Christian nation in a part of the world with few Christians or democracies, and the ancestral homeland of a majority of Arab-Americans. United States ties to Lebanon are cultural and emotional, rather than the tangible ties of military bases, oil fields, international waterways, or industrial/military might.
Many American warm feelings toward Lebanon probably cooled with the events of 1982-1984. In August 1982, the United States, France, and Italy sent troops to Beirut to monitor the evacuation of Palestine Liberation Organization and Syrian forces surrounded by Israeli Defense Forces. The MultiNational Force (MNF) left Beirut on September 14, only to return a few days later after the assassination of president-elect Bashir Jumayyil, the Israeli occupation of Beirut, and the massacre of Palestinian civilians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The U.S. contingent to the MNF became enmeshed in the Lebanese conflict, first by arming and training the LAF, and second by returning fire at Lebanese attacking the U.S. MNF contingent stationed at the Beirut airport. Helping the LAF and firing back at the Shia and Druze created an impression among many Lebanese that the United States supported the Christian-right and opposed the Muslim-left. When the Lebanese Army disintegrated and political conciliation efforts failed in late 1983-early 1984, the MNF partners agreed to withdraw from Lebanon; the 100-man British contingent left on February 8, the 1,500 Italians withdrew on February 20, the 1,800 U.S. Marines "redeployed" between February 21 and 26, and the last of the 2,000 French soldiers left on March 31, 1984. Some Middle Easterners believe the United States and its MNF partners abandoned Lebanon, and should have stayed until the Lebanese Government re-established its authority over the country. U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf crisis of 1990-1991 did much to counter the belief that the United States was unreliable and would not support its friends, as some believed was demonstrated when the United States pulled out of Lebanon.
The United States has enjoyed good diplomatic relations with Lebanon and has supported Lebanon's political independence. In July 1958, the United States sent 14,300 U.S. Army and Marine personnel to Lebanon to support the Government in resisting a radical seizure of the country. During the civil war period beginning in 1975, the United States has expressed its concern over the fighting, violence, and destruction of the country, and has provided emergency economic aid for the Lebanese people and military training and equipment for the Lebanese Armed Forces. The United States supported the various efforts to arrange cease-fires to end the civil war. U.S. Ambassador Phillip Habib's peace mission following the 1982 Israeli invasion ended the fighting and led to the Israeli withdrawal. As a part of the withdrawal agreement, the United States sent 2,000 Marines to join the French, Italian, and British contingents in the MultiNational Force. Secretary of State George Shultz negotiated a peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel in May 1983 (abrogated by Lebanon in March 1984 under Syrian pressure). In early 1989, President Bush expressed his deep concern over the renewed violence in Lebanon, and his support for the U.N., French, and Arab League efforts to arrange a cease-fire. In October 1989, the United States supported the Arab League-sponsored Taif meeting, and supported the governmental reforms, disarming the militias, and the withdrawal of foreign forces incorporated in the Taif agreement.
On July 1, 1993, the U.S. Senate passed by voice vote S.Con.Res. 28, which stated that Syria violated the Taif Agreements by not withdrawing from Lebanon in September 1992, urged an immediate Syrian withdrawal, and called upon the President to continue withholding aid and support for Syria. The Resolution also praised Lebanon and Syria for participating in the peace talks, reaffirmed U.S. support for Lebanon's integrity, and agreed with the State Department assessment that the August/September 1992 elections did not reflect the full spectrum of Lebanese politics (meaning the Maronite Christians who boycotted the election). On July 7, 1993, the Lebanese cabinet issued a statement that said, in effect, that the Senate Resolution was linked to Israel, that the Senate did not mention implementing U.N. Resolution 425 that called for Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, that the Senate was interfering in Lebanese-Syrian relations, and that the Resolution cast doubts on Lebanon's legitimacy. On August 3, 1993, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee added Section 531 to its version of the foreign aid authorization bill that stated no U.S. aid could be provided for Syria until Syria complied with the Taif agreement and withdrew its forces from Lebanon.
On April 18, 1983, a truck bomb destroyed the U.S. Embassy in west Beirut, killing 63 people, 17 of whom were U.S. citizens, and wounding another 100 people, 40 of whom were U.S. citizens. On October 23, 1983, a truck bomb killed 220 U.S. Marine, 18 U.S. Navy, and 3 U.S. Army personnel in a Beirut airport building used as U.S. MNF headquarters and barracks. On December 12, 1983, a truck bomb exploded in the U.S. embassy compound in Kuwait, killing 6 people, none of them U.S. citizens. The incident appeared to be related to the U.S. presence in Lebanon. In February 1984, the MNF, including the U.S. contingent, left Beirut because it became obvious that Lebanon's government was not able to extend its control over Lebanese affairs. During the 16-month tour, 265 members of the U.S. MNF contingent were killed. The United States lost prestige in the Middle East because many Arabs believed the United States abandoned its commitment to Lebanon by withdrawing the MNF before the Lebanese government was ready to assert its authority over the country. On September 20, 1984, a truck bomb killed 20 people, 2 of whom were U.S. military personnel, at the U.S. Embassy annex in Awkar, north-east of Beirut.
In addition, between 1982 and 1988, 18 U.S. citizens were kidnapped and held hostage, most of them by pro-Iranian Lebanese. 15 of the U.S. hostages escaped or were released, and 3, Peter Kilburn, William Higgins, and William Buckley, were killed while in captivity. (See CRS Report for Congress 92-398 F, Lebanon: U.S. Hostages, an Overview and Chronology.)
On September 6, 1989, Ambassador John McCarthy closed the embassy and evacuated the 29 members of the staff following anti-American demonstrations. Following General Awn's October 13, 1990, departure from the presidential palace in Beirut and his retreat to the French embassy, the Department of State said it hoped that Lebanon's trial was over and that Lebanon could move toward reconciliation and a new independence. Ryan Crocker, the new U.S. Ambassador, re-opened the U.S. Embassy in Awkar on November 29, 1990, following the withdrawal of the militias from Beirut.
On July 23, 1992, Secretary of State James Baker traveled from Syria to Zahle, Lebanon, to meet with President Hirawi, Prime Minister Sulh, and Foreign Minister Buways. The leaders discussed the resumption of the Lebanon/Israel peace negotiations, but Baker's trip to Lebanon assumed symbolic significance beyond the immediate peace talks. The United States was demonstrating its commitment to Lebanon's integrity, to Lebanon's elections, to Lebanon's importance in the Middle East, and to Lebanon's leaders and their continuing reform of the system and emergence from 15 years of civil war.
On September 8, 1992, the State Department criticized the 1992 elections because of irregularities in voting and because all opinions were not represented due to the Christian boycott, but said the U.S. would cooperate with the new Government.
Secretary of State Warren Christopher's helicopter trip from Cyprus to Beirut on February 22, 1993, during his fact-finding mission for the Arab-Israeli peace process, was similar to Secretary Baker's trip of July 1992, demonstrating U.S. ties to Lebanon, U.S. support for the Lebanese Government, and U.S. recognition of Lebanon's independent role in the peace process. U.S. support for Lebanon was reinforced when Secretary Christopher drove to Zahleh on August 4, during his Middle East tour to restart the peace talks. But the Lebanese press reported disappointment in Lebanon when Christopher did not visit Lebanon during his early December 1993 tour of Middle Eastern countries.
On February 27, 1996, the Department of State extended the travel ban to Lebanon for 6 months. The ban has been in place since January 1987.
Secretary of State Christopher met with Prime Minister Hariri in Lebanon on 23 April, and was instrumental in negotiating the April 26, 1996, cease-fire between Hizballah and Israel.
Syrian military forces entered Lebanon in March 1976 in response to President Fanjiyah's appeal to help the Christians repel a Muslim/Druze attack. 30,000 to 40,000 Syrian troops continue to occupy the north above Tripoli, the Beqaa Valley north of the town of Rashayah, the Beirut-Damascus highway, and, since late May 1988, most of west Beirut. (Syrian forces do not venture south of a "red line" running east and west across Lebanon near Rashayah. South of the line is considered Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operating area.) In October 1990, Syrian tanks and infantry surrounded the Baabda presidential palace in east Beirut where General Awn had been besieged since September 1989. On October 13, Syrian aircraft bombed and strafed the palace, causing General Awn to flee to the French embassy where he sought asylum.
In October 1989, as part of the Taif agreements, Syria agreed to begin discussions that could lead to a Syrian troop withdraw from Beirut to the Beqaa Valley two years after political reforms were implemented (President Hirawi signed the reforms in September 1990), and to withdraw entirely from Lebanon after an Israeli withdrawal. The withdrawal discussions, which should have started in September 1992, have not yet begun, in part because the Lebanese Government said it needed more time to establish its authority over the country. Syrian officials maintain that they are waiting for the Lebanese government to complete rebuilding the army and police forces and assume security responsibilities in Lebanon before beginning the withdrawal discussions.
Syria and Lebanon signed a treaty of brotherhood, cooperation, and coordination in May 1991, which calls for creating several joint committees that will coordinate policies. Some observers speculate that the treaty will lead to Syrian domination (if not outright annexation) of Lebanon, while others believe the treaty will enhance Syrian-Lebanese cooperation without affecting Lebanese independence.
Observers speculate that Syria wants to maintain influence over Lebanon and Lebanese affairs, particularly foreign and defense matters, to maintain the historical connection between Syria and Lebanon, to protect Lebanon as a center for Syrian trade and business, to ensure Lebanese support for Syrian positions in Arab councils, to deny Israel influence over Lebanon, and to use Lebanon as a buffer against Israeli encroachment. Syria cultivates relations with several Lebanese factions, including the National Syrian Socialist Party that advocates a "Greater Syria," the Shia Muslim Amal group (Shia Muslims are the majority in Lebanon), the Druze and the Progressive Socialist Party (Lebanese Druze want to retain access to the Syrian Druze community), and the Franjiyah-led Maronite Christians of northern Lebanon to counter other Maronite forces.
Observers believe Israel wants influence over Lebanon's foreign and defense policy that will neutralize Lebanon in Arab councils and will deny Syria access and influence over Lebanese affairs. Israel views Christian Lebanon as a potential ally in a hostile Muslim Middle East, and as a channel to Western, Christian allies that will support Lebanon and Israel against the Arab Muslim majority. Also, some Israelis see Lebanon as a possible partner in an economic union similar to the Benelux arrangement. Finally, Israel shares with Syria the need to have Lebanon serve as a buffer between their two countries.
On March 14, 1978, Israel invaded and occupied Lebanese territory south of the Litani River, to destroy Palestinian bases that Israel believed were the source of attacks against Israelis. Israeli forces withdrew on June 13, 1978, after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was placed south of the Litani to serve as a buffer between Israel and the Palestinians. Israeli forces again invaded Lebanon on June 6, 1982. The IDF overran the UNIFIL positions, occupied southern Lebanon, defeated Syrian forces in the southern Beqaa, laid siege to Beirut, and killed approximately 20,000 Lebanese and Palestinians. Israeli forces withdrew in 3 stages, completing the primary withdrawal in June 1985. About 1,000 Israeli troops, in cooperation with the 2,000-3,000 man South Lebanon Army, continue to patrol the "security zone," the 5 to 10-mile-wide strip along the Lebanon-Israel border that the Israelis have held since the 1982 invasion. Israel continues its air and artillery retaliation against Palestinian and Lebanese armed forces that attack IDF and South Lebanon Army positions.
Palestinians in Lebanon want a safe haven while they wait to return to their homes in Palestine. There are about 350,000 Palestinians living in Lebanon, 279,000 of whom are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as refugees from the 1948 and 1967 wars with Israel, and 144,000 of those registered with UNRWA live in UNRWA refugee camps. Some Palestinians in Lebanon, perhaps 11,000 to 12,000, belong to one of the several guerrilla groups that have used Lebanon as a base for attacks against Israel since being evicted from Jordan in 1970-1971. The Palestinians receive some support from the Lebanese, particularly the Sunni Muslims, but many Lebanese oppose the Palestinian presence in Lebanon because it attracts Israeli and South Lebanon Army (SLA, the Israeli supported militia) attacks and creates friction among pro-Palestinian and anti-Palestinian Lebanese.
Many Lebanese reject the suggestion that the Palestinians be given Lebanese citizenship because a great majority of the Palestinians are Sunni Muslims, and the addition of 350,000 Sunnis would upset the Lebanese confessional balance. Some Lebanese have suggested that the Palestinians be allowed some rights, such as the right to work, but that they remain resident aliens without Lebanese citizenship.
Iranian clerics and the religious regime that overthrew the Shah in 1979 promote the establishment of Islamic regimes in other countries. The Iranian clerics exploited their existing ties with the Lebanese Shia community to advocate the establishment of an Islamic republic in Lebanon. Iran sent 1,000 to 2,000 Revolutionary Guards to Baalbak in the Beqaa Valley, ostensibly to fight with Lebanon against Israel, but more likely in an attempt to gain influence among Lebanon's Shia Muslims. Some Iranians maintain that the Guards were sent as a gesture of thanks to Syria for Syrian support for Iran in its 1980-1988 war with Iraq, but it is doubtful if Syria welcomed the gesture, preferring to exercise Syrian influence over the Lebanese Shia without Iranian interference and competition. Iran apparently has direct links to Hizballah, which has been connected to some terrorist incidents and to the hostages in Lebanon, and which appears to be part of, or patterned after, a similar group in Iran. Iranian-supported Hizballah and Syrian-supported Amal fought each other for control of west Beirut until July 1992, when they formed an alliance for the elections.
French contact with Lebanon, from the Crusades, the Ottoman "capitulations," the League of Nations Mandate, and other historical events, has created a special relationship between France and the Lebanese, particularly the Christians. France offered its diplomatic good offices among Lebanese factions, between Lebanese and Syrian leaders, and among the United States, Arab League, United Nations, and others, seeking a cease-fire in the fighting and an agreement to enter political negotiations. The French embassy in Beirut granted political asylum to General Michel Awn after his retreat from Baabda Palace on October 13, 1990.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), created in March 1978 to monitor the Israeli withdrawal, continues to operate in a 10-mile-wide belt across southern Lebanon. The 9-country, 6,000-man force, renewed by the Security Council every 6 months, is to keep the peace and to assist in restoring government authority in south Lebanon. About 70 members of the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) serve in Lebanon, as the Observer Group, Lebanon, to assist the UNIFIL in observing the truce. UNTSO, created in 1948, has a total of some 300 officers from 17 countries to observe the application of the 1949 Arab-Israel armistice agreements.
The following estimates of Lebanon's population were taken from Lebanon's Political Mosaic, published by the Directorate of Intelligence of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, NESA 92- 10020, LDA 92-13537, August 1992. There has been no census in Lebanon since 1932. Not all Lebanese agree with the CIA figures cited below, and some maintain that the Christian communities are understated.
Between 1946 and 1992, the United States provided $694.3 million in foreign assistance for Lebanon. Of that total, $416.4 million was economic assistance and $277.9 million was military assistance.