the world capitalist system. It strengthened and encouraged the development of the comprador through the division of Syria to render the area economically weak and dependent upon foreign trade and commercial services” (Odeh 49). However, the reality is that Lebanon has gained its independence mainly as a result of being a pawn between major world powers, “Lebanon became independent as a result of a game of nations, specifically between leading states involve in World War II. If World War I made possible Lebanon’s existence within its present borders, World War II paved the way for its legal independence. Implicitly, however, Lebanon also became independent from its continental hinterland, most notably from Syria” (Salame 2). The Middle-East became a primary concern of both the United States and the former Soviet Union as the Cold War developed after World War II.
Muslim and Christian factions have been in contention in the region for centuries but many contend that Syrian and PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) forces escalate this conflict and that many Lebanese Muslims are in favor of the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. Where Israel is concerned, conflict has been intense between the two countries for decades. During most of the 1970s, Israeli and Lebanese forces were in conflict with one another. The situation on the Lebanon-Israeli border has long been fraught with conflict and tension, but, after the relocation of Palestinian forces from Jordan to Lebanon the tension was exacerbated. The tension reached a head on March of 1978 after a PLO attack on Israel, “A commando attack over the Israeli border resulted in the death and wounding of many of the Israeli population. The PLO claimed responsibility for the raid, and within days of the announcement, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon and occupied the entire southern section of the country apart from the city of Tyre and its surrounding area” (M...