i'll summarize M.E history for you (but ignore Iraq & Iran)
1. The Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, aka, "Israel") always under foreign rule, from Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Ottomans, British/French.
2. Syria always a crossroads of the world, with important cities of Aleppo & Damascus. Syria therefore more naturally pluralistic than Lebanon, which is more sectarian.
3. Lebanon had mountain people, particularly Christian Maronites + Orthodox and a pseudo-islamic cult called Druze. These folks lived in the mountains, which safeguarded their unique culture in an Islamic world
4. More or less, different religions & cultures lived in the Levant for centuries, namely, Christian sects, Muslims sects and Jews.
6. The Ottomans lost the Levant after WW1 and Britain & France controlled Palestine, Lebanon & Syria. Britain sought to disarm Palestinians while arming & training the influx of Zionists
7. Western creation of Israel in 1947 lead to the displacement of around 1 million people who lived in Palestine. These Palestinians were both Muslim & Christian. For example, ex-OZ-treasurer Joe Hockey is of Palestinian Armenian origin. These Palestinian refugees went to live in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon & elsewhere
8. The dumb, disorganised & inexperienced Arabs attacked the new Israel. The war ended and Jordan took control of the Palestine West Bank and Egypt took control of Palestine Gaza & the Sinai Desert
6. I cannot recall the source but I read in 1949, after the 1st arab-israel war ended, both Israel and whatever Palestinian Authority sought to create a nation of Palestine. But Egypt threatened British interests (such as Suez Canal) in Egypt if Britain supported the proposal
7. Egypt, including under the charismatic but stupid Gamal Nasser, never wanted to create a Palestine but were interested in creating a Pan-Arab state. For example, for a short time, Egypt & Syria became one nation called the United Arab Republic
8. Therefore, from 1949 until 1967, none of the Arab nations , nor the United Nations, sought to create a nation of Palestine
9. In 1967, the goose Gamal Nasser engaged in around 27 days of sabre rattling against Israel due to a Soviet report Israel was about to invade a part of Syria. At this time, most of Egypt's professional army was in Yemen. The Israel's decided to do a preemptive strike and took out the airforces of Egypt & Syria one morning
10. The goose Gamal Nasser, who for some reason had control of the Jordanian Army, then contacted Jordan, told them Israel attacked and Egypt was winning, and told the Jordanese Army to attack Israel. The Jordanese got hammered and 15,000 Egyptian troops retreating to Egypt, mostly peasant volunteers, were slaughtered in the desert by Israeli airforce and military. This was called the Six Day War
11. The result of the Six Day War and slaughter of Egyptians was twofold: (i) Israel took the West Bank, Gaza & Syrian Golan Heights, which they illegally occupy today; and (ii) international & Muslim outrage resulted in Jews from all Muslim nations from Morocco in the West to Iran in the East to emigrate to Israel. Even Jews from Poland and probably other European countries emigrated due to outrage at the slaughter.
12. Jordan, having lost the West Bank, became the home of the PLO, who were basically Communists. The PLO, angry at the loss of the West Bank, created a state-within-a-state in Jordan. The PLO did things like hijack Western jumbo jets into Jordan and blow them up. Despite opposition from all the Arab world, King Hussein of Jordan attacked the PLO and killed many of them. Syria took to the rest of the PLO via Syria and sent them to Lebanon.
13. The PLO set up another state-within-a-state in southern Lebanon, harassing the local Shia Muslims (today connected to Hezbollah), who resented the PLO aliens. The Lebanese government wanted the PLO to disarm. But the Egyptians under Nasser held a conference with the outcome the PLO could remain armed.
14. The PLO were supported, with both men & arms, by Syria, Egypt, Libya & Algeria and other Pan-Arabs, with the goals similar to Gadaffi of creating a Muslim socialist state. As said, the PLO were largely Communists, Even Communists from Japan joined them.
15. The rude ungrateful PLO dogs in Lebanon were joined by the worst of Lebanese traitorous dogs called the Druze under the Jamblatt clan. The Druze always change sides. They were Commies back then but today claim to support the USA. In the 1850s, the British paid the Druze to attack the Maronite Christians, starting the Lebanese Diaspora. In Redfern Sydney, there are/were two Maronite Churches dating back to the 1860s. Australian Rugby Union Captain and Sydney Lord Mayor Sir Nicholas Shehadie's father was a Maronite priest who visited Sydney in the 1925 to check on the Maronites in Australia.
16. in 1975 a war broke out in Lebanon started by the Right-Wing (so-called Christian) Phalange who massacred a bunch of Palestinians. The Phalange were supported, encouraged & armed by Israel. Israel was getting these dupes to fight the PLO for them. This said, its seems they were stuck between a rock & a hard place. Unlike in 1958, when the US sent troops upon invitation to Lebanon to resolve a crisis, it seems by 1975 the Israel cause was too strong for the USA and also the PLO had lots of sentiment in the West (as shown in the 3 videos i posted before). In summary, there were too many international interests involved in Lebanon supporting their teams.
17. The PLO retaliated by massacring of whole Christian village.
17. At this time, the Shia of southern lebanon support the Right-Winger because the PLO was the common enemy.
18. The war went on and the Christian Right Wingers were getting hammered so the Lebanon President went to Syria and asked the Syrians for help. Approved by the USA, Syria invaded Lebanon and starting fighting the same PLO they previously supported. Syria feared Lebanon would disintegrate and Israel would invade.
19. The Syrians wouldn't leave so the Right Wingers started fighting the Syrians as well as anyone else, including other 'Christian groups' who wouldn't support them.
20. The sheet-fight ended in 1989 but Syria occupied Lebanon until 2005.
21. Also, in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon and got the PLO finally expelled to Tunisia, The Israelis let the Phalange/Kataeb (whoever) do the famous two massacres of women, children & old people in two Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, which even Israel declared a war crime and slapped Ariel Sharon's wrist for it.
22. Israel also wouldn't leave Southern Lebanon so the Hezbollah were formed (now Iran gets involved with its Shia brethren) to harass Israel until Israel finally leaves in 2000. For 18 years , Israel occupied southern Lebanon.
23. In this war, mostly performed by gangs of thugs, many civilians died. In a way, it was Syria that brought the PLO to Lebanon but it was also Syria that probably saved Lebanon. My father visited during the later part of the war. He flew to Damascus and caught a taxi to his relatives in the Lebanese Mountains. There was no war there.
24. In 1989, a peace agreement was made to forgive & forget (even though a few assassinations happened later of certain leaders). Because of the PLO, the Palestinians were ruled out as being Lebanese citizens and 500,00 of them today remain in squalid UN refugee camps in Lebanon.
25. A "confessional system" of govt was set up where leaders of the various myriad groups are guaranteed seats in the Lebo govt. But most of these guys trace back to the war days, such as Jamblatt, Aoun, etc.
26. So these clan leaders are said to rort the coffers to pay for their clan support and probably local armed guards.
27. However contrary to the Western media non-sense, Lebanon is currently in economic collapse because: (i) right wing US-Saudi bankers & oligarchs, such as the Hariri traitors, created a Ponzi scheme; (ii) US sanctions on Syria & Lebanon; (iii) 2.5 million refugees from US supported wars in Palestine, Iraq & Syria; (iv) Lebanon gradually falling from its former place as the educational & financial centre of the Middle-East; and (v) many Beirut folks used to too high a standard of living.
28. In short Lebanon does not really have a central govt with proper tax, laws & infrastructure but is a "libertarians paradise".
29. Lebanon has not failed due to Hezbollah but is a mega-GFC failure of corrupt laizee fair capitalism or snouts in the trough.
30. To end, Lebanon is a very un-united country with a traditional clan culture that got heavily burned by the rest of the Arab world who, despite losing to Israel in every war, wanted to keep to PLO fighting their war against the Zionist colony. Lebanon, unlike Syria, simply lacked and lacks the social unity to fend off such attacks. Plus Lebanon still has the Right-Wing Evangelical money worshippers who love the USA & Israel despite all the evil the USA has done recently towards Lebanon. So any grass roots movements will be difficult as long as the US puppets remain.
31. The USA was once a friend to Lebanon. Many Christian Lebanese identified with the West. But now since the USA is 100% Zionist, many Christian Lebanese have turned away from the USA, especially when literally seeing the US-Saudii-Zion proxies called ISIS massacre Christians in Syria and destroy and damage ancient Christian towns.
31. Since Lebanese & Syrian Christians are Maronite & Orthodox, most Western Christians don't give a damn about them but swallow the B.S. that Assad & Hezbollah are evil terrorists; even though it was Assad & Hezbollah that saved many Christians and Christian towns from ISIS in Syria.
32. The real Lebanese know the West does not care anymore about Lebanese Christians. The historic relationship with the West and particularly with France was for the protection of Lebanese Christians.
33. But today, those Kataeb dogs are united with Hariri's Saudi Sunni gang. Its a new world. Religion is not so important.
