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232. PolicyWatch #1272: United Nations Peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon: One Year After the War
- Author:
- Andrew Exum and Gerri Pozez
- Publication Date:
- 08-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- On August 14, 2007, in a speech marking the first anniversary of the ceasefire ending the 2006 summer war, Hizballah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel of the consequences of further conflict. Addressing a mass rally in Beirut via a video link, he said: "Zionists, if you think of launching a war on Lebanon . . . I promise you a big surprise that could change the fate of war and the fate of the region." Israel is still trying to secure the release of two soldiers kidnapped from its territory by Hizballah in July 2006 -- the incident, along with the killing of three other soldiers, that provoked the war. Meanwhile, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) -- comprising approximately 14,000 soldiers from thirty countries -- endeavors to maintain a tenuous peace.
- Topic:
- United Nations and War
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Israel, and Lebanon
233. PolicyWatch #1245: Syria's Export of Terrorism to Lebanon: Threat and Response
- Author:
- David Schenker
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- Yesterday's car bombing in Beirut, which killed Future Party parliamentarian Walid Eido, underscores the Syrian-backed multifront campaign to undermine stability in Lebanon. One front is the Palestinian refugee camps, particularly Nahr al-Bared, where the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) are currently fighting Fatah al-Islam, an al-Qaeda affilate with ties to Syria. A second front is Beirut itself, via terrorist attacks designed to destabilize the state. The blast that killed Eido was the sixth such attack in the past month, and Lebanon's Internal Security Force (ISF) has interdicted several other ambitious terrorist conspiracies, including a plot described by the Lebanese daily as "the Lebanese September 11."
- Topic:
- Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Lebanon, and Syria
234. Looking after Australians overseas
- Author:
- Hugh White
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- What is the problem? As more and more Australians travel and live overseas, the Australian Government finds itself under increasing pressure to provide consular help and support, especially in emergencies. Providing these consular services is a traditional role for government representatives abroad, but both the scale and the nature of the demand have grown significantly in recent years. The demand from Australians for evacuation from South Lebanon during the conflict there last year demonstrated how far community expectations of the nature and scale of consular help have increased. This raises two problems. First, there is an issue of expectation management; community expectations are starting to run ahead of what can practicably be provided. Second, there is a problem of resources and priorities. While the consular workload has grown, the resources of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have not, and the result has inevitably been a diversion of resources away from other diplomatic tasks. That is something Australia can ill afford.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Diplomacy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Australia and Lebanon
235. UNIFIL: Old lessons for the new force
- Author:
- Richard Gowan
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- Peacekeeping is a repetitive business. All too often, international forces are required to return to crumbling states that have already played host to one or more peace operations – and in some cases seem to have become dependent on outside interventions. Take Haiti, to which five separate UN missions have been deployed in the last fifteen years. Or Timor-Leste, which remained stable for less than five months after the UN departed in December 2005 – UN police are back there now, alongside Australian troops. Or, looking at a longer timeframe, think of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the 1960s, the UN deployed nearly 20,000 troops to the former Belgian colony. Today, it has similar-sized force back in the country - few analysts believe it should withdraw soon. And then there is Lebanon. Next year will be the thirtieth anniversary of the UN's first deployment to the south of the country. After last summer's crisis and the ensuing surge of UN troops, there may be blue helmets around to mark such anniversaries for a while yet. And it is possible to identify a series of recurring patterns in Lebanese peacekeeping.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Peace Studies, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Middle East, and Lebanon
236. Electing the Lebanese President
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- The meeting of the Lebanese Parliament on Tuesday 23 October 2007 to elect a new President of the Republic has been adjourned to 21 November. After earlier attempts to hold the vote failed to take place and without any parliamentary consensus on procedures or candidates, this IFES Lebanon briefing paper outlines some of the key constitutional and procedural issues that may arise.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Arabia, and Lebanon
237. Analytical Perspectives on the War in Lebanon
- Author:
- Volker Perthes
- Publication Date:
- 03-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The summer 2006 war in Lebanon can be perceived through at least five different frames of reference. The US administration saw the war in Lebanon as a local manifestation of the global war on terror. According to this framework, Hezbollah is an Al Qaeda-type enemy, not a national group with a local agenda and constituency; bargaining with Hezbollah is not possible. This point of view makes fighting global terror more difficult and jeopardises the search for stability and peace in the region. Many Israeli and European politicians saw the war as a confrontation between radical Islam and a modern Israeli state, a clash of cultures between Islamic fundamentalists and Western civilisation. This frame of reference, however, fails to recognise the fault line within the Muslim world itself, between those who want to integrate their societies into a globalised world and those who do not. The conflict in Lebanon can also be interpreted as a consequence of the weakening of a state, a framework which underlines the need to strengthen Arab institutions, or as an asymmetrical war between an armed nation state and a guerrilla movement. Finally, the war in Lebanon can be seen as a conflict over power, land, resources and sovereignty - the classic realist perspective. If the international community fails to work toward a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East, another framework will gain strength in the Arab world: one that interprets events according to a theory of non-negotiable conflicts between Western imperialism and radical Islamic resistance.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, Middle East, Israel, Arabia, and Lebanon
238. From Beirut to Baghdad?
- Author:
- Richard Gowan
- Publication Date:
- 09-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- Late last summer, I was looking for photos to illustrate an article on the influx of European peacekeepers into Lebanon. Amid the standard shots of armoured cars, one image was distinctly different. It showed a group of blue-helmeted troops striding purposefully up a beach – and being completely ignored by a nonchalant sunbather.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution and War
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Europe, Middle East, and Lebanon
239. Iraqi Reconciliation: Prospects for Peace at Home and Progress with Neighbors
- Author:
- David Satterfield
- Publication Date:
- 03-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- On March 27, 2007, Ambassador David Satterfield addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Ambassador Satterfield's public service career has included tours as ambassador to Lebanon as well as key Middle East affairs positions with both the State Department and the National Security Council. Formerly deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, he now coordinates Iraq policy at the State Department, serving as a senior advisor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The following is a rapporteur's summary of his remarks.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Development, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Middle East, Baghdad, and Lebanon
240. The Riyadh Arab Summit: Multiple Issues and High Expectations
- Author:
- Simon Henderson and David Schenker
- Publication Date:
- 03-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- On March 28, the Arab League will convene the annual summit of its twenty-two member states in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Despite a record of disunity and inconclusiveness, this annual meeting of Arab leaders remains the subject of intense interest in the region. Rising Sunni-Shiite tensions, talk of a peace opening with Israel, and developments in Iraq, the Palestinian Authority (PA), and Lebanon have generated more attention for this year's summit than usual.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Palestine, Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Riyadh