Posted on 11/11/2006 6:59:06 PM PST by neverdem
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 11 — Lebanon was thrown into a political crisis Saturday when talks broke down over giving the militant faction Hezbollah and its political allies greater control of the government. Almost immediately, cabinet ministers from the group and the other main Shiite party resigned.
Lebanon’s political leaders have held talks for four days, trying to defuse tensions among the various government factions after Hezbollah demanded a greater role in the cabinet and called for its alliance to have veto power over all government decisions. Hezbollah was politically emboldened after its 34-day war with Israel this summer, and it quickly pressed for more power.
Though for days it appeared the talks were headed toward a compromise, the negotiations collapsed when Hezbollah refused to relinquish its demand for a veto, people in the talks said. When the governing coalition refused, the talks collapsed, and within three hours the political brinksmanship began with all of the Shiite ministers resigning.
Under the accord that ended the civil war, called the Taif Agreement and signed in 1989, the government must include members from all the country’s main sects. With the departure of the Shiites, it now becomes an interim government with the authority only to handle day-to-day management of the country.
“It is an escalation,” said Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at American University of Beirut. “They are telling them they are willing to stage confrontations.”
Lebanon’s political stability, and the success or failure of the sitting government, is not just consequential for this country of four million. It is part of a broader contest between the United States, which backs the government coalition, and Iran and Syria, which support Hezbollah.
One of the crucial decisions coming up, and one that cannot be addressed by an interim government, is whether to...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Civil war, war with Israel, opportunity for Syria, all of the above....
All of the Lebanese Shiites are enemy combatants and need to be dispatched to the outer darkness.
Whole ME is going to blow
Maybe those Bible people are right and it is the end times
Oh well Human race was a great experiment
Wonder what is next on nature's agenda
Take care of Iran and we wouldn't have to worry about these idiots.
Did someone say the Israeli's didnt lose that war??
"Take care of Iran"
Maybe Israel will step up and wipe out Iran and Syria's military with thorough bombing run like the six day war?
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