I was struck by just how different the governments & their visions for Lebanon under each ascendancy would have been, and how much change the country has experienced in less than a century. The events of 1967-70 destabilized the Christian ascendancy and can be directly tied to the Israel-Hezbollah conflicts ongoing today; the exile of the PLO to Lebanon set the precedent for attacks & conflict with Israel, making it far easier for the events that followed culminating in Hezbollah’s rise to power in 2005 – leading to the recurrent wars with Israel of today, which further challenge Lebanon’s ability to return to internal prosperity and peace.
