In a masterly narrative, he gives a much-needed, comprehensive history of the country and its conflicts, culminating with the recent war in Gaza and its fallout in Lebanon.

Iran and Israel now face each other in the hills of south Lebanon.ĭavid Hirst, author of The Gun and the Olive Branch, is a hugely respected commentator on the Arab-Israeli crisis. To understand Lebanon's history is to understand the history of the entire region - and, with the rise of Hizbullah, it has come to assume a disproportionate, dangerous power of its own. Throughout its short existence, it has been attacked, invaded, occupied or interfered with to serve the political interests of foreign powers, resulting a series of devastating wars and crises. He could have meant Lebanon: a sectarian state no bigger than Wales that has become battleground for one of the defining conflicts of twentieth-century history. All rights reserved.'Beware of Small States' wrote Mikhail Bukanin in 1870. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Hirst's is a passionately partisan and eloquent recounting of the tragic fate of modern Lebanon and the Palestinian people. for provoking the 2003 invasion of Iraq and anoints the Iranians as the only true victor of America's war in Iraq. The author also faults the United States for its deference to all things Israeli takes to task Israel and the Israeli lobby in the U.S. Hirst is solidly in the Palestinians' corner throughout he inveighs against Israeli policies of ethnic cleansing and blocking progress toward a settlement of the Palestinian issue. Displaced Palestinians flooded into southern Lebanon following the first Arab-Israeli War (1948) and spawned a guerilla 'state-within-a-state' on Israel's northern border. Lebanon's role in the struggle for Palestine, however, is the author's primary interest. Given Lebanon's tiny size, sectarian polity, and strategic location in a volatile region, Hirst observes that it was almost designed to be the everlasting battleground for others' political, strategic and ideological conflicts. Description : A former Middle Eastern correspondent for the Guardian, Hirst (The Gun and the Olive Branch) chronicles the travails of modern Lebanon in this provocative polemic that doubles as a history of the Arab-Israeli struggle.

Beware of small states by david hirst