Trump Wants Syrian Forces in Lebanon

Above; Donald Trump and former al-Queda operative, now Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The Lebanese Civil War began in 1975 and lasted until 1990. Lebanese society consists of a myriad of religious identity political groups. 18 of these are recognized and represented in the Lebanese government. The nations Christian majority had traditionally been in influential positions but with the arrival of Palestinians from Israel in the southern part of the country their majority status began to shrink.

Fighting between Lebanese Christian militias and Palestinian insurgents, mainly from the Palestine Liberation Organization, began in 1975 and generated an alliance between the Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims, pan-Arabists, and leftists. Wikipedia

The civil war began when Maronite and Orthodox Christians were attacked by either Lebanese Shi’ites or Palestinian militants, who aligned together against Lebanese Sunnis and Christians.

On the morning of 13 April 1975, unidentified gunmen in a speeding car fired on a church in the Christian East Beirut suburb of Ain el-Rummaneh, killing four people, including two Maronite Phalangists. Hours later, Phalangists led by the Gemayels killed 30 Palestinians traveling in Ain el-Rummaneh. Citywide clashes erupted in response to this “Bus Massacre“. The Battle of the Hotels began in October 1975, and lasted until March in 1976. Wikipedia

In January of 1976 Syrian president Hafez al-Assad brokered a cease fire but also began moving Syrian troops in North Eastern third of Lebanon. Many of these troops were disguised as PLO members. The cease fire did not hold. He also petitioned the US not to get involved if he were to move troops into the country. Syria has long considered Lebanon as rightfully Syrian territory (see Greater Syria). In March the Lebanese president asked that Syria intervene. Syria sent 12,000 troops into Lebanon in June of that year.

The PLO and Lebanese Shi’ites got backing from Iran and the USSR. The Syrian government ostensibly aligned with the Lebanese government but had the ulterior motive of a full invasion. Israel supported the Lebanese government, Druze, Christian and Sunni factions.

The Syrians, under the auspices of the Arab League, kept 40,000 troops in NE Lebanon. The PLO and Lebanese Shia in southern Lebanon kept fighting. It was not to Syria’s advantage to interfere because they where using the unrest as an excuse to occupy the country.

Between February and April of 1978 a sub conflict called the 100 Day War was fought. The Syrians surrounded Beirut with 15,000 troops and began shelling Christian areas of the city with the intent of taking over all of Lebanon. The UN Security Council did not pass a resolution calling on Syrian forces to desist. The Lebanese Front led by Bachir Gemayel counter attacked the Syrian forces and their aligned militias. The Syrians were forced back and forced to surrender in a humiliating defeat.

PLO attacks from Lebanon into Israel in 1977 and 1978 escalated tensions between the countries. On 11 March 1978, eleven Fatah fighters landed on a beach in northern Israel and proceeded to hijack two buses full of passengers on the Haifa–Tel-Aviv road, shooting at passing vehicles in what became known as the Coastal Road massacre. They killed 37 and wounded 76 Israelis before being killed in a firefight with Israeli forces. Wikipedia

A few days later the Israeli Defense Force invaded southern Lebanon and occupied the area up to the Litany River. The UN passed UNSC Resolution 452 calling for the withdrawal of all Israeli forces. Israel brokered a ceasefire with the PLO leadership then turned over their positions to the South Lebanon Army and withdrew.

In April the SLA shelled UNIFIL headquarters, wounding 8 UN soldiers. In April 1980, three Irish UN soldiers were kidnapped and two of them murdered by Christian gunmen. Private O’Mahoney survived in SLA territory. Irish soldier Private S. Griffin was shot by SLA operatives. The Irish were considered aligned with the PLO by the SLA. However, Palestinian factions kidnapped an Irish UNIFIL soldier in 1981.

Continued attacks by the PLO and other Palestinian factions in southern Lebanon resulted in another Israeli interdiction in 1982. The Israeli Defense Force and the SLA quickly overran Palestinian forces, fought briefly with the Syrian forces and surrounded Beirut. The Palestinian factions in Beirut began infighting. The Israeli forces intended to take over the city but the United States negotiated a ceasefire and evacuated the PLO to other nations. Arafat’s new headquarters was established in Tunisia.

It was in 1982 Iran established Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to fight the Israeli Defense Force. Hezbollah’s 1985 manifesto outlined its key objectives, which include expelling Western influence from the region, destroying Israel, pledging allegiance to Iran’s supreme leader, and establishing an Islamic government influenced by Iran’s political ideology. Wikipedia

By 16 June 2000 Israel had withdrawn its forces from Lebanon. Pressure for the Syrians to withdraw as well began to develop. The assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri intensified the pressure. On 26 April 2005 the Syrian occupation forces also withdrew from Lebanon.

Trump’s suggestion that Syrian forces should move into Lebanon to take on Hezbollah caused a backlash. Hezbollah has refused to disarm

Related: Why Trump’s proposal for Syria to fight Hezbollah will send shudders across Lebanon CNN

Map showing zones of control of Lebanon in 1976