Essay on Lebanon and its main problems

In 2013, the GDP was at an all-time high, even compared to prior the invasion of 2003. Showing that despite several years of stifled growth the long-term effect of the reconstruction of Iraq is starting to look more positive. This contrasts with the previous view that the Iraqi economy has not been successfully reconstructed. This is because Iraq was not a failed state, therefore the Iraqi economy was not disastrous prior to the invasion. Meaning an improvement on GDP is a positive sign. The graph in figure 1 appears to show a similar reconstruction performed by the Hussein administration after the first Gulf War in the early 1990s. Suggesting that the US reconstruction effort has not been much better than an attempt by a corrupt regime which the US eliminated. However, the recent faltered of both the fortune of both the Iraqi economy and Iraqi people appears to correlate with the absent of the US in the country. Signifying that the heavy use of US money and corporations has led to a good short-term development but have led to a problem in long-term development. This is mainly due to a lack of expertise and skills to be able to deal with problems as noted previously. Two main examples of this are the health industry and education, health which has some of the best equipment

Azerbaijan is a small country in Southwest Asia about the equivalent size of Maine. Georgia, Armenia, Russia and Iran border Azerbaijan and are in a vital part geographically that is regarded for natural petroleum resources. Exporting these resources have been increasing lucrative for Azerbaijan’s economy. However, in the past decade there has been an ongoing progression in economic reform to help Azerbaijan come from

In March 19945, the government started a stabilization plan that was created to decrease both the budget deficit and the current account deficit by cutting expenditures, increasing revenues, and initiating a crawling peg exchange rate policy. As a result, inflation and GDP rose, with the black market economy estimated to be up to 30% of the GDP. In the following years, the stabilization program has paid off. The economy performed well in 2000, mainly from an increase in foreign direct investment. Since then, manufacturing output and productivity increased, and export industries did well. But even though GDP growth rate for Hungary was higher than most European nations in 2002, it was below the rate needed to reach the wealth levels of EU countries. As a result of government attempts at privatization, over 80% of the economy was privately owned by 2001, and Hungary is used as an example for countries going through market reforms.

The Arab-Israeli conflict exposed Lebanon as a “penetrated country” (Tür 109-110) and for this reason, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) relocated their headquarters to Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut where they proliferated their attacks on Israel. Israel reciprocated back and this led to a civil war within Lebanon borders which disintegrated the army in Lebanon (Tür 110). Religious communities formed militia groups and fought against each other. Muslims fought against Christians to determine the political and religious influence of each group in the nation, Syria saw an opportunity to intervene and try to stop the civil war in Lebanon. However, their intervention only intensified Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon through the “Operation Litani” (Tür 110). Israel’s invasion led to

The phrase that one man’s freedom fighter is to another man a terrorist is rightly illustrated by the Hezbollah, which in itself means the party of God.

A perfect storm of unfavorable conditions laid the foundation for political unrest in the Middle East that would eventually ignite a pattern of revolutions in the region known as the Arab Spring. Although there are many components that comprised the desire for revolution, it was worsening economic conditions that played the vital role in beginning and driving these uprisings. Egypt’s January 25th uprising provides a classic example. Long hailed as a model for its implementation of economic neoliberal policies by many institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it may seem ironic that Egypt’s economic conditions were such a catalyst for the uprising. Yet, it was the neoliberal policies of Egypt that brought about conditions for economic unrest. The

Alexander the great, crusaders from Europe, the Assyrian empire and the Ottomans all had claim to the area at some point in time. However the biggest influences on the country were the Arab invaders who brought the Islamic religion to the area, the French whose influence in the country affected politics well into the 20th century, Syria, Israel, and the many refugees that flooded into the country over the centuries. This melting pot of people from different ethnic backgrounds has made Lebanon a unique area filled with many different styles of cooking. Like in many other Mediterranean countries grilled meats are a common food, often accompanied by pita bread, various dips like hummus and fool, and rice. Yogurt is also a common staple and can be found in many dishes. Red meats like goat and sheep are common fare and are the biggest sources of meat and dairy in the whole country.

Snug within the Fertile Crescent, Syria lies in the Middle East region within the southwest Asian realm and is encircled by Turkey to the north, Iraq to the southeast, and Jordan on the southern border, while Lebanon and the

The Arab-Israeli conflict came about from the notion of Political Zionism. Zionism is the belief that Jews constitute a nation (or a people) and that they deserve the right to return to what they consider to be their ancestral home, land of Israel (or Palestine). Political Zionism, the belief that Jews should establish a state for themselves in Palestine, was a revolutionary idea for the 19th Century. During World War I, Jews supported countries that constituted the Central Powers because they detested the tyranny of czarist Russia. Both the Allies and Central Powers needed Jewish support, but Germany could not espouse Zionism due to its ties with the Ottoman Empire, which still controlled Palestine. British

While it may seem like an indigenous creation, the perception of the Middle East as a source of terrorism and violence in the United States is an archetype imported from historic Europe. The conceptualization of the Middle Eastern ‘terrorist’ is rooted in the time of Sassanid and Byzantine Empire competition. In this era the two empires identified themselves and their people in opposition to one another, beginning a pattern of “othering” and dehumanization that would continue for centuries and remain significant in the formation of Europe and the Middle East region. Later, the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 and the 1983 Beirut barrack bombing solidified the imported concepts and provided an American context for the Middle Eastern terrorist. These attacks and the subsequent loss of Americans lives finalized the concept of Middle Eastern based terrorism, which was amplified by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In contemporary post 9/11 history the Middle Eastern ‘other’ has become more polarized, violent, and barbaric in comparison to the United States ‘citizen’. State terror and torture have been attributed almost exclusively to the Middle East in popular Western media and society. Yet, state sponsored torture and terrorism is not a tool only utilized by the Middle East, or even most frequently by the Middle East. This paper will explore how the United States government employed torture as a tool of degradation and demoralization in the Baghdadi prison Abu Ghraib during the period

The Arab Spring in 2011 brought a belief to people living in Middle-Eastern countries, such as Tunisia and Egypt, that they could overthrow an autocratic ruler. However, viewing demonstrations and political instability from an economic perspective, such activities often create a rift in the confidence of the economy and a capital flight from it (Ramzy 2013, 123-124) (Springborg 2011, 92). If instability continues to be the case in the political habitat of a country, then it could be hit by a financial

Lebanon 's economy and markets are best described at the dawn of the new millennium by a private and liberal economic activity and openness to abroad with perfect capital and labor mobility. The private sector contributes to around 75% of aggregate demand, a well-diversified sector that covers the totality of economic sectors and is a major pillar for growth and recovery. The Lebanese economy is also a typical open economy with a large banking sector equivalent to more than 2.5 times its economic sector and providing an important support to aggregate demand.

and trade for thousands of years. It has also been on the route of numerous

“Beirut wasn’t sensible and it never did serve a purpose. It was goofy from the beginning.” (Gen. Colin Powell) That quote summarizes the United States time spent in beirut, Lebanon. Lebanon was not a country of prevailation at the time of the United States arrival. The entire country was ruled by regional militias and was overrun by its public. America, France, and Britain all arrived to help Lebanese government take control of their own country again. All of these 3 world superpowers were there after the PLO pulled out of Lebanon, and these superpowers were

Lebanese tax policy is still very much under development, and is currently not considered wholly adequate by the international community and by many domestic forces and individuals (Advameg, 2012). A value-added tax wasn't implemented until 2002, and gasoline and other special commodities taxes were the only taxes collected on sales prior to this point an had been kept at relatively low levels (Advameg, 2012). It was also during the tax changes of 2001 and 2002 that the government agreed to consider a tax on savings accounts and other interest-earning instruments for the first time (Advameg, 2012). Lebanese tax policy has grown more standardized and more adequately serves many governmental needs in the country after the past decade of improvements, and there is now an estensive tax structure in place though perhaps not evenly and consistently applied (PKF, 2010). Taxes on income, capital gains, and most other areas of taxation are still low compared to international standards, as well, which has both benefits and drawbacks to the country and the region as well as to business operating in or with Lebanon (PKF, 2010).