Deal or No Deal - Lebanon 20 Minutes 21 Seconds
Deal or No Deal - Lebanon YouTube link
Author
journeymanpictures
Created
June 23, 2008
Updated
November 21, 2008
Length
20 Minutes 21 Seconds
Rating
4.30
Views
20,968
Description
June 2008
An appearance of peace has returned to Lebanon; but as Hezbollah grows in power, political tensions are becoming palpable. Has the country finally entered a long-term settlement, or are we witnessing the preliminaries to a new conflict?
Thanks to massive financial and military backing from Iran and Syria, Hezbollah has emerged as a powerhouse over the past years. Keen to display its power, it has repeatedly had the upper hand in skirmishes with government forces. A traditional enemy of Israel, Hezbollah has recently shifted its attention to Lebanon. Sunnis and supporters of the government have now become terrified to speak out against it: 'I doubt the Lebanese president can do anything about them because they see themselves as stronger than the state. They are a state within a state', says a leader of the Future Movement. Lebanese society is divided between pro-Hezbollah and pro-government factions, which is most visible in the hostility between Sunnis and Shias but has lately spread to other communities. With the 2009 elections looming, the Christian vote has become a vital political battleground. And in some ways the split emerging among them is more significant than the Sunni-Shia divide. Militias are forming in the suburbs of Beirut and tensions keep rising. Is this the build-up to a new civil war?
Related Tags
Lebanon civil wars Hezbollah militants government
fighting invasion Journeyman Pictures
fighting invasion Journeyman Pictures