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Subtly, Syria Is Taking Over Lebanon

[Jerusalem Post] Jonathan Spyer - Syria's return to Lebanon is a work in progress. The formation of the new Lebanese government after the Beirut clashes in May represented a very significant gain for the pro-Syria element in Lebanese politics. Hizbullah now controls a blocking 11 of the 30 cabinet seats. With a Lebanese government of this type, there is no reason for Syria to be in dispute there. The short period when Damascus felt the need to express its will in Lebanon solely in a clandestine way is drawing to a close. The Syrians hope the May 2009 general election will see the establishment of a government more fully dominated by Hizbullah and its allies, in which the pro-Western element will have been marginalized. This would mark the effective final reversal of the events of the spring of 2005, when the Cedar Revolution compelled the Syrian army to leave Lebanon. This would represent the enveloping of Lebanon into the regional alliance led by Iran, of which Syria is a senior member. The writer is a senior research fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs Center at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya.
2008-08-08 01:00:00
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