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MichaeltheGreat
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Apolyton Grand Executioner
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mooning the house that Ruth built.
Oct 1999
time: 21:29
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Better than the Riviera.
Basically, there was a big income disparity and disparity in political power between Christians and Moslems, and the dominant Christians couldn't be bothered updating an early 1930's census for a few decades, because they realized population growth among the Moslems would start shifting the balance of power politically. Things kind of slid downhill during the whole of the 60's, but on a small scale, because nobody yet had external support to really go balls to the wall fighting everyone else.
After the PLO got expelled from Jordan in 1970, they started basing in Lebanon, and launching cross-border raids into Israel, with the popular support of leftist Arabs. Then Israel and Syria got into the act, but in each case, the three main players picked a major local faction that already hated the others and was starting to fight the others actively.
Eventually, private feuds and factionalism within the major groups increased to the point where there was once something like 50 separate private fighting forces going at it.
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MichaeltheGreat
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Apolyton Grand Executioner
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mooning the house that Ruth built.
Oct 1999
time: 21:29
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quote:
Originally posted by PLATO1003
Dad was over there on a business trip in early 1970's. Said Beirut was the most western city in ME. Sad what happened there. Even though Mtg says that the problem started before Syria got involved, somehow I believe that they had a lot to do with the discontent among the growing Muslim population. I believe that they were trying to create a situation where another front opened in their war with Israel. It seems that they were successful at the expense of a decent country. |
Not much of a front, particularly when the Syrian sponsored militia (primarily Amal) was also fighting Hesbollah and PLO backed elements.
Why would a growing Moslem population in an ostensibly democratic country need outside influence to be discontent, when the supposedly democratic rulers played games with representation that would embarass the Jim Crow south? And used that corrupted representation system to preserve economic and political advantage in favor of the conservative Christians? The French didn't encourage us to rebel against England, we figured it out on our own. If anything, there would be more influence from Nasser and his brand of socialist Arab nationalism.
Any time you have political and economic power split along ethnic or religious lines, you've got a powder keg waiting to go off. The Syrians couldn't create that condition out of a happy Moslem underclass who whistled while they worked for their Christian masters. They could exploit it after the fact.  Syria was also later to the game than the PLO and Israeli retaliation against the PLO, so their motives were more likely aggressive containment through proxies, than direct action against Israel. Every outsider is dirty in Lebanese blood and distruction, not just Syria, and the conservative Christian Lebanese are pretty dirty in the whole mess too.
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My Wife Hates CIV
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Michigan
Jan 1970
time: 05:29
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Well... I guess the US can pretty much do whatever the US wants to do in this part of the world, as these actions show. I mean, what makes something legal or not. If you can't get punished for it... ?? Still, what a mess.
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PLATO
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Of the occupied South
Dec 2002
time: 23:29
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quote:
Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
Not much of a front, particularly when the Syrian sponsored militia (primarily Amal) was also fighting Hesbollah and PLO backed elements.
Why would a growing Moslem population in an ostensibly democratic country need outside influence to be discontent, when the supposedly democratic rulers played games with representation that would embarass the Jim Crow south? And used that corrupted representation system to preserve economic and political advantage in favor of the conservative Christians? The French didn't encourage us to rebel against England, we figured it out on our own. If anything, there would be more influence from Nasser and his brand of socialist Arab nationalism.
Any time you have political and economic power split along ethnic or religious lines, you've got a powder keg waiting to go off. The Syrians couldn't create that condition out of a happy Moslem underclass who whistled while they worked for their Christian masters. They could exploit it after the fact. Syria was also later to the game than the PLO and Israeli retaliation against the PLO, so their motives were more likely aggressive containment through proxies, than direct action against Israel. Every outsider is dirty in Lebanese blood and distruction, not just Syria, and the conservative Christian Lebanese are pretty dirty in the whole mess too. |
While I generally agree with your analysis, I doubt that the unhappy muslim underclass bought their weapons at the local wal-mart. Some country was involved in arming them and my money says it was Syria.
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panag
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MY WORDS ARE BACKED WITH BIO-CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Oct 2000
time: 07:29
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quote:
Originally posted by PLATO1003
Indeed, please correct my statement to the Arab ME. (and except apologies for excluding Tel Aviv which he did visit and was impressed with) |
hi ,
well it was the pearl of the orient at one time , but so many buildings where destroyed , ...... its an outright shame , when israel put on the un's agenda together with the french to protect the buildings also the un refused , russia put up its veto , ...... 
they are rebuilding it , and its worth a visist now , but there is something missing , if you have seen it with your own eyes before you find the current beirut empty , ...... its like the city's sould has been destroyed , ......
have a nice day
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25-06-2003 05:22
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