...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...’s establishment and the 1980s, the contention between Christians and Moslems over the country’s political framework had two extremes: hinting at division and federalism by the former and demands for Arab unity or unity with Syria by the latter. However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk...
both have reservations about Lebanon that must be dealt with peacefully, through a delicate balancing act, mastery of the art of lying, a blend of modern and clannish political practices, and constant efforts to reduce both sides’ willingness to resort to violence.