LEBANNON

Lebanon

Lebanonˈneːn]; Aramaic: לבנאן‎‎), officially the Lebanese Republic, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the southwest. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.

The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history.Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdom, a maritime culture that flourished for over a thousand years (c. 1550–539 BC). In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, and eventually became one of the Empire's leading centers of Christianity. In the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion and identity. However, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church and asserted their communion with Rome. The ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era.

The region eventually was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918. Following the collapse of the empire after World War I, the five provinces that constitute modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate of Lebanon. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, establishing a unique political system – confessionalism – a Consociationalism type of power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities. Bechara El Khoury, first Lebanese president, Riad El-Solh, first Lebanese prime minister and Emir Majid Arslan II, first Lebanese minister of defence, are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and are national heroes for having led the country's independence. Foreign troops withdrew completely from Lebanon on 31 December 1946. Lebanon has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie since 1973.

Before the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), the country experienced a period of relative calm and renowned prosperity, driven by tourism, agriculture, commerce, and banking.^[Because of its financial power and diversity in its heyday, Lebanon was referred to as the "Switzerland of the East" during the 1960s, and its capital, Beirut, attracted so many tourists that it was known as "the Paris of the Middle East". At the end of the war, there were extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure.^[14] In spite of these troubles, Lebanon has the highest Human Development Index in the Arab world, to the exclusion of the oil-rich economies of the Persian Gulf.

Hezbollah - based in Lebanon

Hezbollah , literally "Party of Allah" or "Party of God")—also transliterated Hizbullah, Hizballah, etc.is a Shi'a Islamist militant group and political party based in Lebanon.Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council,and its political wing is Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese parliament. After the death of Abbas al-Musawi in 1992, the group has been headed by Hassan Nasrallah, its Secretary-General.

After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Israel occupied a strip of south Lebanon, which was controlled by the South Lebanon Army (SLA), a militia supported by Israel. Hezbollah was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran primarily to harass the Israeli occupation.^[4] Its leaders were followers of Ayatollah Khomeini, and its forces were trained and organized by a contingent of 1,500 Revolutionary Guards that arrived from Iran with permission from the Syrian government, which was in occupation of Lebanon at the time. Hezbollah waged aguerilla campaign in South Lebanon—SLA collapsed and surrendered, and Israel withdrew from Lebanon on May 24, 2000.

Hezbollah's military strength has grown so significantly that its paramilitary wing is considered more powerful than the Lebanese Army.Hezbollah has been described as a "state within a state",^[] and has grown into an organization with seats in the Lebanese government, a radio and a satellite TV station, social services and large-scale military deployment of fighters beyond Lebanon's borders.Hezbollah is part of the March 8 Alliance within Lebanon, in opposition to the March 14 Alliance. Hezbollah maintains strong support among Lebanon's Shi'a population, while Sunnis have disagreed with the group's agenda.Hezbollah receives military training, weapons, and financial support from Iran, and political support from Syria. Hezbollah and Israel fought each other in the 2006 Lebanon War.

Since 2012, Hezbollah has helped the Syrian government during the Syrian civil war in its fight against the Syrian opposition, which Hezbollah has described as a Zionist plot and a "Wahhabi-Zionist conspiracy" to destroy its alliance with Assad against Israel. It has deployed its militia in both Syria and Iraq to fight or train local forces to fight against ISIS.^[ Once seen as a resistance movement throughout much of the Arab world, this image upon which the group's legitimacy rested has been severely damaged due to the sectarian nature of the Syrian Civil War in which it has become embroiled.

Hezbollah's status as a legitimate political party, a terrorist group, a resistance movement, or some combination thereof is a contentious issue. The Arab League, United States, France, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Australia, Canada,^] the Netherlands, and Israel have classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. The European Union, New Zealand and the United Kingdom^[ have proscribed Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization, while making a distinction with Hezbollah's political wing. Russia considers Hezbollah a legitimate sociopolitical organization.China remains neutral, and maintains contacts with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah - the Party of God - is a Shia Islamist political, military and social organisation that wields considerable power in Lebanon.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-10814698

Regards

Mark R. Rienzie

Co D 75 Infantry LRRP

The Most Elite Fighting Force In The United States Army

5th Special Forces Recondo** - CERTIFIED

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP)
VIETNAM 1969-1970   

Airborne / Ranger Team Leader

Staff Sargent (E6 11B4P)

38 Combat Missions and Never Lost a Man!!

Air Medal, National Defense, Vietnam Campaign, 
Combat Infantry Badge, etc.....

Discharge: Honorable

Cancer, Neuropathy from Agent Orange plus liver compromised, kidney questionable, spleen enlarged, low platelets etc....
PTSD confirmed!

Vietnam Veteran 1969-1970  Facebook
Cell: (516)313-3112 

JORDAN

JORDAN

The Emirate of Transjordan, also hyphenated as Trans-Jordan and previously known as Transjordania or Trans-Jordania, was a British protectorate established in April 1921. There were many urban settlements beyond the Jordan River, one in Al-Salt city and at that time the largest urban settlement east of the Jordan River.

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/jo.htm

Transjordan had been a no man's land following the July 1920 Battle of Maysalun, and the British in neighbouring Mandatory Palestine chose to avoid "any definite connection between it and Palestine" until a March 1921conference at which it was agreed that Abdullah bin Hussein would administer the territory under the auspices of the British Mandate for Palestine with a fully autonomous governing system.

The Hashemite dynasty ruled the protectorate, as well as the neighbouring Mandatory Iraq. On 25 May 1946, the Emirate became the "Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan", achieving full independence on 17 June 1946 when in accordance with the Treaty of London ratifications were exchanged in Amman. In 1949 the country's official name was changed to the "Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan".

Background

Under the Ottoman Empire, most of Transjordan was part of the Syria Vilayet.^[5] The inhabitants of northern Transjordan had traditionally associated with Syria, and those of southern Transjordan with the Arabian Peninsula.

During World War I, Transjordan saw much of the fighting of the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule. Assisted by the British army officer T. E. Lawrence, the Sharif of Mecca Hussein bin Ali led the successful revolt which contributed to the Ottoman defeat and breaking up of its empire.

Regards

Mark R. Rienzie

Co D 75 Infantry LRRP

The Most Elite Fighting Force In The United States Army

5th Special Forces Recondo** - CERTIFIED

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP)
VIETNAM 1969-1970   

Airborne / Ranger Team Leader

Staff Sargent (E6 11B4P)

38 Combat Missions and Never Lost a Man!!

Air Medal, National Defense, Vietnam Campaign, 
Combat Infantry Badge, etc.....

Discharge: Honorable

Cancer, Neuropathy from Agent Orange plus liver compromised, kidney questionable, spleen enlarged, low platelets etc....
PTSD confirmed!

Vietnam Veteran 1969-1970  Facebook
Cell: (516)313-3112 

SYRIA - Civil War - Support

SYRIA - The Middle East  - CIVIL WAR - Support

Syria (ⁱ/ˈsɪ.rɪə/; Arabic: سوريا‎‎ or سورية, Sūriyā or Sūrīyah), officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia. De jure Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest, but the government's control now extends to approximately 30–40% of the de jure state area and less than 60% of the population.

A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Syrian Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Circassians, Mandeans and Turks. Religious group include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, and Yazidis. Sunni Arabs make up the largest population group in Syria.

In English, the name "Syria" was formerly synonymous with the Levant (known in Arabic as al-Sham), while the modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Its capital Damascus is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.^] In the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt.

The modern Syrian state was established after the end of centuries of Ottoman control in World War I as a French mandate, and represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-ruled Arab Levant. It gained independence as a parliamentary republic on 24 October 1945 when Syria became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French Mandate – although French troops did not leave the country until April 1946. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a large number ofmilitary coups and coup attempts shook the country in the period 1949–71. In 1958, Syria entered a brief union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic, which was terminated by the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. The Arab Republic of Syria came into being in late 1961 after December 1 constitutional referendum, and was increasingly unstable until the Ba'athist coup d'état, since which the Ba'ath Party has maintained its power. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, and its system of government is considered to be non-democratic by American NGO Freedom House. Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000.

Syria is a member of one international organization other than the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement; it is currently suspended from the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,^] and self-suspended from the Union for the Mediterranean.^] Since March 2011, Syria has been embroiled in an uprising against Assad and the Ba'athist government as part of the Arab Spring, a crackdown that contributed to the Syrian Civil War and to Syria's becoming one of the most violent countries in the world. The Syrian Interim Government was formed by the opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Coalition, in March 2013. Representatives of this alternative government were subsequently invited to take up Syria's seat at the Arab League.

Syrian civil war

The Syrian Civil War (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية السورية‎‎) is an ongoing multi-sided armed conflict with international interventions^] taking place in Syria. The unrest grew out of the 2011Arab Spring protests, and escalated to armed conflict after President Bashar al-Assad's government violently repressed protests calling for his removal. The war is being fought by the Syrian Government, a loose alliance of Syrian Arab rebel groups, the Syrian Democratic Forces, Salafi  jihadist groups (including al-Nusra Front) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). All sides receive substantial support from foreign actors, leading many to label the conflict a proxy war waged by the regional and world major powers.

Under the Assad regime, Syria went through significant neoliberal economic reform. This reform exacerbated disparities in wealth, which combined with a recession and several years of drought led to the spread of the Arab Spring to Syria. Protests quickly spread to the predominantly Kurdish areas of northern Syria.

Syrian opposition groups formed the Free Syrian Army and seized control of the area surrounding Aleppo and parts of Southern Syria. Over time, factions of the Syrian opposition split from the original moderate politics to pursue an Islamist vision for Syria, as al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).^] In the north, Syrian government forces largely withdrew to fight the FSA, allowing the Kurdish YPG to move in and claim de facto autonomy. In 2015 the YPG joined forces with Arab, Assyrian, Armenian and Turkmen groups forming the Syrian Democratic Forces.

As of February 2016 the government held 40% of Syria, ISIL held around 20-40%, Arab rebel groups (including al-Nusra Front) 20%, and 15-20% is held by the Syrian Democratic Forces. Both the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Army have made recent gains against ISIL.

International organizations have accused the Syrian government, ISIL and other opposition forces of severe human rights violations, with multiple massacres occurring. The conflict caused a considerable displacement of population. On 1 February 2016,^] a formal start of the UN-mediated Geneva Syria peace talks was announced by the UN, with the fighting continuing unabated.

Syria crisis: Where key countries stand

Russia is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's most important international backers and the survival of the regime is critical to maintaining Russian interests in the country.

It has blocked resolutions critical of President Assad at the UN Security Council and has continued to supply weapons to the Syrian military despite international criticism.

Moscow wants to protect a key naval facility which it leases at the Syrian port of Tartous, which serves as Russia's sole Mediterranean base for its Black Sea fleet, and has forces at an air base in Latakia, President Assad's Shia Alawite heartland.

In September 2015 Russia began launching air strikes against rebels, saying the so-called Islamic State (IS) and "all terrorists" were targets. However, Western-backed groups were reported to have been hit.

President Vladimir Putin has though said that only a political solution can end the conflict.

The US has accused President Assad of responsibility for widespread atrocities and says he must go. But it agrees on the need for a negotiated settlement to end the war and the formation of a transitional administration.

The US supports Syria's main opposition alliance, the National Coalition, and provides limited military assistance to "moderate" rebels.

Since September 2014, the US has been conducting air strikes on IS and other jihadist groups in Syria as part of an international coalition against the jihadist group. But it has avoided attacks that might benefit Mr Assad's forces or intervening in battles between them and the rebels.

A programme to train and arm 5,000 Syrian rebels to take the fight to IS on the ground has suffered embarrassing setbacks, with few having even reached the frontline.

The Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom  Saudi says Saudi President Assad cannot be part of a solution to the conflict and must hand over power to a transitional administration or be removed by force.

Riyadh is a major provider of military and financial assistance to several rebel groups, including those with Islamist ideologies, and has called for a no-fly zone to be imposed to protect civilians from bombardment by Syrian government forces.

Saudi leaders were angered by the Obama administration's decision not to intervene militarily in Syria after a 2013 chemical attack blamed on Mr Assad's forces.

They later agreed to take part in the US-led coalition air campaign against IS, concerned by the group's advances and its popularity among a minority of Saudis.

The Turkish government has been a staunch critic of Mr Assad since the start of the uprising in Syria.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said it was impossible for Syrians to "accept a dictator who has led to the deaths of up to 350,000 people".

Turkey is a key supporter of the Syrian opposition and has faced the burden of hosting almost two million refugees. But its policy of allowing rebel fighters, arms shipments and refugees to pass through its territory has been exploited by foreign jihadists wanting to join IS.

Turkey agreed to let the US-led coalition against IS to use its air bases for strikes on Syria after an IS bomb attack in July 2015.

They have though been critical of coalition support for the Syrian Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) - an affiliate of the banned Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) deemed a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the US.

Regional Shia power Iran is believed to be spending billions of dollars a year to prop up President Assad and his Alawite-dominated government, providing military advisers and subsidized weapons, as well as lines of credit and oil transfers.

Mr Assad is Iran's closest Arab ally and Syria is the main transit point for Iranian weapons shipments to the Lebanese Shia Islamist movement, Hezbollah.

Iran is also believed to have been influential in Hezbollah's decision to send fighters to western Syria to assist pro-Assad forces.

Militiamen from Iran and Iraq who say they are protecting Shia holy sites are also fighting alongside Syrian troops.

Iran has proposed a peaceful transition in Syria that would culminate in free, multi-party elections. It was involved in peace talks over Syria's future for the first time when world powers met in Vienna.

Regards

Mark R. Rienzie

Co D 75 Infantry LRRP

The Most Elite Fighting Force In The United States Army

5th Special Forces Recondo** - CERTIFIED

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP)
VIETNAM 1969-1970   

Airborne / Ranger Team Leader

Staff Sargent (E6 11B4P)

38 Combat Missions and Never Lost a Man!!

Air Medal, National Defense, Vietnam Campaign, 
Combat Infantry Badge, etc.....

Discharge: Honorable

Cancer, Neuropathy from Agent Orange plus liver compromised, kidney questionable, spleen enlarged, low platelets etc....
PTSD confirmed!

Vietnam Veteran 1969-1970  Facebook
Cell: (516)313-3112