2008 Woodie Awards
Free Lebanon
Ryan Hengel
Issue date: 9/14/06 Section: Opinion
I was sitting down to my morning breakfast at a hotel in Istanbul when an al-Jazeera news flash came on the television. This news flash was unique; it wasn't about suicide bombers in Gaza or car bombs in Baghdad. This particular newscast was about Israel bombing Beirut, Lebanon. All the other guests in the breakfast area were Muslim and immediately looked up towards the television in disgust. I myself was surprised to find out that Israel would engage in open preemptive hostilities against a country that it had not directly attacked by. Although I could not understand a single word of the newscast, the videos of bombed out apartment buildings and people screaming and running for their lives was enough for me to realize that what was happening was something very serious.
Lebanon and Israel have a long history of conflict stemming all the way back to the Palestine War of 1948. But this is not the first time Israel has made an invasion into Lebanon. In 1982 the Israeli army drove all the way to Beirut looking to rid the country of PLO members. Israel did not completely succeed in their mission and had to withdraw their troops in 1985. They still kept a "security zone" between the two countries occupying a large part of southern Lebanon. This was the status quo until Israel recently withdrew.
Since then Lebanon has been on the path to reform, democracy, and true independence. After many protests Syria also withdrew its troops from occupying Lebanon. Beirut was being restored to its status as the Paris of the Middle East. Lebanon also held elections free from outside control. Things were far from perfect in Lebanon but the seeds of reform, democracy, and modernization had been sewn. The international community just needed to watch them grow.
Hezbollah had always given the legitimate government of Lebanon some trouble. After all Hezbollah is considered to be a political party in some countries. The part of Hezbollah that is so troublesome is not its political aspirations but its militant ones. This militant arm operates in mostly Syria and Lebanon. Many years of occupation caused the Lebanese army to lose control of some areas of the country to Hezbollah militias. These militias were responsible for the taking of the two Israeli soldiers, which led to the bombing and invasion of Lebanon.
Lebanon and Israel have a long history of conflict stemming all the way back to the Palestine War of 1948. But this is not the first time Israel has made an invasion into Lebanon. In 1982 the Israeli army drove all the way to Beirut looking to rid the country of PLO members. Israel did not completely succeed in their mission and had to withdraw their troops in 1985. They still kept a "security zone" between the two countries occupying a large part of southern Lebanon. This was the status quo until Israel recently withdrew.
Since then Lebanon has been on the path to reform, democracy, and true independence. After many protests Syria also withdrew its troops from occupying Lebanon. Beirut was being restored to its status as the Paris of the Middle East. Lebanon also held elections free from outside control. Things were far from perfect in Lebanon but the seeds of reform, democracy, and modernization had been sewn. The international community just needed to watch them grow.
Hezbollah had always given the legitimate government of Lebanon some trouble. After all Hezbollah is considered to be a political party in some countries. The part of Hezbollah that is so troublesome is not its political aspirations but its militant ones. This militant arm operates in mostly Syria and Lebanon. Many years of occupation caused the Lebanese army to lose control of some areas of the country to Hezbollah militias. These militias were responsible for the taking of the two Israeli soldiers, which led to the bombing and invasion of Lebanon.
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