War in Lebanon: The Mircocosom Between the Middle East and the West

On the map, Israel and Lebanon are seemingly insignificant countries. Yet, since 9/11, it has been realized that the Middle East, and moreover, the region where Israel and Lebanon are found seems to be key U.S.'s security.

When one thinks of the recent 2006 Lebanon War, it is often assumed it was a war in the Middle East not concerning America or any of the westernized world. Lebanon possessesboth many sects of Christianity and almost an equal number of Sunni and Shiite Muslims. In addition, its geographical location allows us to look at the problems and reasons for religious tension throughout the world.

The question is posed, why is there so much tension between these religions and their individual sects? Moreover, how is the Westernized world, more specifically the U.S., affected by the troubles of the Middle East and how does it affect them? There is no better country to use as a microcosm than Lebanon.

The Lebanese War, the July War,or also known in Israel as the Second Lebanon War, was a military conflict betweenLebanon and northern Israel. The main parties involved were Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israeli military. The conflict started on July 12, 2006 and continued until the United Nations brokered a ceasefire effective on August 14, 2006. However, the war did not formally end until early September when Israel lifted their naval blockade of Lebanon.

These wars symbolize struggles and tensions between Muslims, between Jews and Muslims, between Christians and Muslims, and (on a higher scale) the tensions between the Middle East and the Western world. These oppositions are centrally driven by the Hezbollah, a group of radical fundamental Shiite Muslims supported by Syria whom the U.S. has labeled as terrorists. It places in a nutshell, all the problems that have been suturing for the past few decades.