Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Mona Yacoubian: Facing the Abyss: Lebanon's Deadly Political Stalemate

This is a handy and even-tempered summary of the Lebanese political stalemate. Yacoubian knows the issue well and she aptly if subtly points to the roles that external players (U.S., France, Syria and Iran) in thwarting an end to the stalemate. My only criticism of this useful paper is that the author fails to underline the insecurity of the Shi'i community. In other words, one of the key reasons that Hezbollah enjoys considerable support for keeping its weapons, rather than disarming, is that its Shi'i constituents really do feel they need to be protected.
People who lived through a war that mostly targetted the Shi'i community are not easily persuaed that they should simply put their trust in Israel, the U.S., or the Lebanese army.
Facing the Abyss: Lebanon's Deadly Political Stalemate by Mona Yacoubian: USIPeace Briefing: U.S. Institute of Peace

No comments: