Overview of Lebanon's Tax Policy

Syria and Lebanon are two dramatically different states with a deeply intertwined history. They were both born out of French interventionism following World War 1, and have experienced complex and strained relations ever since. The two nations have both experienced prodigious political turmoil since gaining their independence, with both suffering from civil wars and conflict with their mutual neighbor, Israel. The war and turmoil that has plagued these two countries can be traced back to various competing national interests, as well as a struggle for regional power. The various religious groups in the area have historically formed transnational advocacy networks with the intent of influencing regional politics. These groups have proved to of been a major factor in the history of both nations.

Something strange happens to me whenever I fly into Beirut airport, which I have done several times in the past twenty years. My heart beats faster and I get butterflies in my stomach. I begin to recall Lebanon’s history and the horrific events that took place. Lebanon, a country that has suffered from civil wars as well as invasional wars, continues to overcome and recover from all the past scars left behind. One particular war in which Beirut and several other cities were affected is the 1982 war with Israel, also known as Operation Peace for Galilee. This war has been of interest to me since I was young because my mother would not stop talking about it every now and then. She describes her startled feelings as a young girl experiencing a violent and disastrous war.

Iran gave direct support to Hezbollah through the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Hezbollah opposed Lebanon because it was supported by Israel and the United States, and in 1985 it issued its political agenda through the “Open Letter to the Downtrodden in Lebanon and in the World.”# In 1989, the Taif Accord emerged and the Lebanese Civil War ended in 1990 when Syrian troops moved into parts of Lebanon that were not occupied by Israel. The Taif Accord balanced powers between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, and overall tried to maneuver equality amongst both groups although Sunni elites were given the dominant role. After the Taif Accord, economic conditions continued to worsen and many began to underestimate the ability of Syria to control Lebanon. Syria then made the strategic move to promote Rafiq al-Hariri in 1992 to rescue Lebanon from its eventual demise. Hariri was able to boost the economy and revive morale in the Sunni communities. By the 1990s Hariri was capable of governing Lebanon independent of Syria. This began a decline of Syrian support for him, and a decline of Sunni dominance. After Hariri’s assassination in 2005, Syria was able to grasp control of Lebanon once more, and enabled Hezbollah to demonstrate a larger role. First existing as a revolutionary Islamist movement,

The ongoing problems of the Middle East are complex and difficult to understand. In Beirut to Jerusalem Thomas Friedman uses the different tools to assess the state of affairs in the Middle East. Friedman uses the social sciences to analysis the situation that he observed when he was in Beirut writing for The New York Times. Being that Friedman is Jewish I rode off the book as a one-sided view of the happenings in the Middle East. What I found was quite the opposite; Friedman took a neutral position. Analyzing the situation in the Middle East is by no means an easy thing. There have of course been situations like this in other parts of the world in other times but none have been as

The use of the Hezbollah has greatly added to the continuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict and has limited cooperation in all regions. The Hezbollah also attracted U.S. attention after a suicide bomber killed over two hundred Marines in Beirut.

Since the establishment of Hezbollah in 1982 as part of the Iranian government’s Revolutionary Guard, according to Spindlove et al (2010, pp. 249-252), the goal of this organization has since been the creation of an independent Islamic state exclusive of the nation of Lebanon. Moreover, according to a compilation of information by Berman (2015), it is widely believed that the Hezbollah ideology spawned during the Iranian Revolution. During this revolution, the rhetoric called upon Muslims to over through governments that oppressed them and their beliefs. Within Lebanon, according to perceptions of the Hezbollah leaders, the United States (U.S.) was ultimately to blame for the oppression of Lebanese Muslims and their beliefs while, simultaneously, viewing Israel as an extension of the U.S. and its policies within the region. Led by religious clerics, in addition to their desire for independence, the Hezbollah organization adopted an

Rafic Hariri has bestowed upon Lebanon a legacy that will never deteriorate and has been chiseled into its history. His vision, focus, and determination are still embedded in the hearts of all of Lebanon’s citizens. He was a symbol of peace and unity for the country in a time where war was a common occurrence. Hariri was a man who believed that people should “throw away the gun and take up the pen.” He brought out Lebanon’s true colors and set an example for the Middle East to follow. Hariri was a billionaire with a heart worth more than his money. Rather than use his money for personal gains, he always lent a helping hand to those who sought it. He funded millions of scholarships and projects to assist those in need of financial help. If you

Summary: In the past years, people has lived in a civil society until the end of the Cold War. Since then, the world has contained feuds, bombings, terror attacks, and strife.

In this day and age, we find ourselves at odds with our “identity” as we find that not only are we representing ourselves, but we also have ties to religion, sect, tribe, and family (Angrist). This shows that despite the cohesiveness and threads that attach us, it has the power to pull people, families, and in some cases countries apart. This conflict comes to a head when religion and ethnicity are interwoven. Hence when divisions occur, this can lead to violent wars that destroy trust between individuals. This can ingrain a sense of uneasiness and distrust that plagues people’s ideas and leaves a country divided. This is particularly evident in Lebanon. Ethnic and religious division led to the festering of feelings of marginalization and discrimination, which boiled over into the Lebanese civil war, a war that claimed the lives of 150,000 people (Szekely). The anger and frustration birthed from this to chaos, and conflict has in turn increased the division between ethnic and religious factions and led to the crumbling of Lebanese nationalism. This essay is specifically aimed at assessing the relationships between ethnic and religious divisions in Lebanon and explores how it contributed to the civil war. This is done by identifying and analyzing the main actors and makes an explanation of the historical divisions stemming from the National Pact, branching out to include the consequences of the civil war on the political structures and the identities of the

These historical events can also provide some foreshadowing and context on current situations within the region. Since the 1980s, the proxy war

The 20th century is very much defined by the cold war that continued from 1947 to 1991. For Eritreans however, that period was not cold, but a never-ending cycle of violence, bloodshed and social displacement. In 1991 the general mood was optimistic as the end of the cold war introduced illusionary terms like globalization and liberalization of economies but that turned out to be misnomers for intensive monopolization of resources. In addition, it ushered wars fought in many countries that were led into destitution by and bad governance by tyrants and warlords: Afghanistan, Congo, Rwanda, Somalia and South Sudan. Ten years later, the circle of fires expanded with the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. Soon,

South Lebanon conflict - Nearly 20 years of warfare between the Israel Defense Forces and its Lebanese Christian proxy militias against Lebanese Muslim guerrilla, led by Iranian-backed Hezbollah, within what was defined by Israelis as the "Security Zone" in South

Lebanon is a small country in the middle east, bordered by Syria and Israel. Like most Mediterranean countries it has cool wet winters with hot dry summers, while the Lebanon mountains experience heavy snow in the winter time. Rainfall varies from region to region, but mainly falls in heavy storms from march to November. Due to the geography of the land the mountainous areas of the country receive considerably less rain. In fact some of the northern plains of the region are almost too dry to grow anything, so livestock is relied upon by the few villages that inhabit this area. All of the major cities in Lebanon, such as Tripoli and Beirut, are located on the coast making maritime plain and coastlines the most populated

I was 16 years old when I first tried it. Friends told me that mixing it with water would be the safest way to take it. Others heavily insisted that snorting leads to a better high. Weighed down by all the pressure and hype, I listened to them and snorted the drug. MDMA, or its generic term ‘Molly’, was not a common drug in Lebanon. It was hard to get your hands on and would lead to severe punishment if caught with the substance in possession. Surprisingly, the consequences were more dire culturally than they were legally. Contrary to many Western beliefs, Lebanon is a vibrant country filled with captivating history and culture. Nevertheless, many young Lebanese adults, a more Westernized generation than those before them, view this rich culture to be restrictive, serving as a constraint in many cases, and I heavily agreed with this perspective. The decline of consensus around core values is still increasing and much of the young-adult population of Lebanon is being influenced by the postmodern world. Customarily, drug abuse was by far one of the most frowned-upon violations. Lebanese families often raised their children on the concept that outward appearances are vital to one’s status and, consequently, if word got out about my drug abuse, I was certain that my family would be subject to suffering a significant backlash from the community. The government itself views drug abuse as a more. However, it is not viewed as a viably important issue compared to the rest of the

In 2002, the Lebanese government increased gasoline taxes, reduced expenditures, and approved a “value-added-tax”; all of these became effective in February 2002.