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Lebanon

Lebanon. By: C/TSgt McDerby. Physical Characteristics.

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Lebanon

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  1. Lebanon By: C/TSgt McDerby

  2. Physical Characteristics • Lebanon is located in the Middle East, it borders the Mediterranean Sea, and it is between Israel and Syria. This country is about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut. Lebanon’s climate is mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers. The mountains experience heavy snows in the winter. Lebanon has a narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) which separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains. • The capital of Lebanon is Beirut. • Tyre, the fourth largest city in Lebanon is an ancient Phoenician city. It houses one of the nation’s major ports known locally in French as Soûr. Tyre has many ancient sites, including the Roman Hippodrome which was added to the UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.

  3. Government • Lebanon is a republic country, which gained it’s independence on Nov. 22, 1943. Lebanon's laws are a mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law, voting age is 21 years old; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education. • Lebanon’s current leaders are Emile Lahud and Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. • Influential groups of Lebanon are the Democratic Gathering, Democratic Left, Democratic Renewal Movement, Future Movement Bloc, Kataeb Reform Movement, Lebanese Forces, Nasserite Popular Movement, Qornet Shewan Gathering, Tripoli Independent Bloc, Free Patriotic Movement, Metn Bloc, Popular Bloc, Tachnaq, Ba’th Party, Development and Resistance Bloc, Kataeb Party, Loyalty to Resistance, Syrian Social Nationalist Party • The President is elected by the National Assembly for a six- year term (the president is not allowed to serve consecutive terms) election was last held Oct. 15, 1998, the next election will be held in 2007 because of a three- year expansion. • Lebanon’s allies are Syria, UAE, Switzerland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Italy, France, Germany, China, US, UK • Lebanon continues to suffer due to the 34 day war last summer by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah and Israel. Lebanon was devastated because of the war and has left the country unstable.

  4. Lebanon’s economy is very weak because of the previous war last summer. It has been struggling to rebuild itself up again by borrowing heavily from domestic banks. Lebanon is also in an internal political crisis. The government was paralyzed by the resignation of six pro-Syrian ministers. Planned reforms, which have been prepared by the government, remain in a political limbo because of the crisis. Lebanon now faces a public debt of more than 40 billion dollars, or 180 percent of gross domestic product. Lebanon’s unemployment rate is approximately 20%. The estimated work force is about 2.6 million, 1 million are foreign workers. The main industries are banking, food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products. The main agricultural products are citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples and sheep. Lebanon exports food, tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, and metal products. On May 7th, Prime Minister Siniora urged all Lebanese political groups to rally behind the state, saying it is the only way to achieve security, stability and economic growth. Economy

  5. Military • Lebanon’s military or Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has an Air Force, Navy, and Army • Lebanese Armed Forces currently has 72,100 active personnel with the Ground Forces consisting of 70,000 troops, the Air Force has approximately 1,100 personnel and the Navy has the another 1,000. • Lebanon’s weapons are outdated due to the lack of funds to their military • A recent conflict was the 2006 Lebanon War.

  6. Military Cont. On July 12, 2006, following an operation executed by Hezbollah militants on Israeli territory, Israel launched a massive military operation against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah. The fighting quickly turned into 33 days of open war and ultimately led to the death of 1,191 Lebanese and 44 Israeli civilians. Over the course of the war 4,409 were injured in Lebanon and nearly a million were relocated. Fighting came to an end on August 14, three days after UN Security Council Resolution 1701—which called for an immediate end of the fighting—was passed. Israel, however, maintained an naval and aerial blockade on Lebanon in a measure meant to prevent Hezbollah from smuggling arms. The blockade was lifted on September 8, and by early December, all Israeli troops had withdrawn from Lebanon. Smoke over Tyre after Israeli bombardment. A Haifa street following a rocket attack

  7. National Interests • A main goal is to rebuild Lebanon again and become stable. • Some disputes that Lebanon isexperiencing is thelack of a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978. • Illegal drugs, opium, poppy and small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin, travel through Lebanon on the way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption. • Money laundering of drug proceeds fuels concerns that extremists are benefiting from drug trafficking and building up their weapons.

  8. National Interests Cont. Prime Minister Fuad Siniora told the opening of the Arab Economic Forum that the Lebanese economy was hit hard by the Israeli military offensive last July and August. “Lebanon continues to suffer from devastating consequence of the war and persistent (internal) crisis,” said Siniora. Lebanon’s central bank has 13 billion dollars in foreign currencies and about 6.8 billion dollars in gold reserves. Last summer’s 34-day Israeli war on the Shiite militant Hezbollah inflicted destruction in Lebanon estimated at several billion dollars, and along with the internal political crisis, scared off tourists and investors. After the war, Hezbollah began organizing reconstruction efforts, and handed out financial aid to families who had lost their homes, building up loyalty from Shiite civilians. Last December, tens of thousands of demonstrators led by the Hezbollah leader called for the resignation of the pro-Western coalition government. The Hezbollah supporters are creating another anti-Western, anti-American, and anti-Israeli following that could lead to future conflicts between us and the Middle East.

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