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From: medawar@poly.edu (Bassem Medawar)
Subject: Lebanon Index, three submssions
Message-ID: 
Organization: Polytechnic University, New York
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1993 01:49:34 GMT
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I posted the following article earlier but I think netnews on this site was
kroken and my post didn't make it to the net so I post it again...
-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the first of what I hope many submissions to the net the 
purpose of which is to gather a bibliography of books, an index, that 
relate to Lebanon, reviews about them or full text in electronic form, 
when possible.  If you are interested in participating in this effort, 
please send email to medawar@rama.poly.edu or 
e.d.wardini@easteur-orient.uio.no.  You may also contribute to the 
effort by simply posting your contribution to scl or Leb-Net.
 
Contribution can be in the form of a bibliographic reference and/or
a review to a reference entry.  The review need not be a formal one but
a set of coherent views, table of contents, and as much data abount
the book (ISBN, bibliography, chronolgy, etc..) as possible  A parallel track 
to the Index and to help place references into a chronological context, we
are building a timeline, a chronology of events.  You may contribute to
the chronology by expanding existing entries or adding to it.
 
As an example of what may be included, I present informal reviews 
"first impression" to three books about Lebanon that have recently come 
to my attention.  I did not read the books in their entirety which is 
why I am not calling the submissions reviewes.
 
The books I will talk about are:
 
- A house of many mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered; by
  Kamal Salibi
- Lebanon: Death of a nation; by Sandra Mackey
- Beirut fragments: A war memoir; by Jean Said Makdisi
 
                             - * -
 
Optionally, the reviewer may state his or her qualifications for doing 
the review.  On this score, my qualifications are that I am a Lebanese.
I am neither a political scientist or a historian.  I have degrees in 
Computer Science and Math from the University of Pittsburgh and 
Polytechnic University (in case it matters to anyone).
 
                             - * -
 
A house of many mansions
The history of Lebanon reconsidered
by Kamal Salibi
 
Published by
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
Copyright (C) 1988 by Kamal Salibi
 
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data.
 
Salibi, Kamal S. (Kamal Suleiman), 1929-
A house of many mansions.
 
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Lebanon-History.  I. Title.
DS 80.9.S26  1988  956.92   88-20679
ISBN 0-520-06517-4 (alk. paper)
ISBN 0-520-07196-4 (ppb. alk. paper)
 
 
Table of contents:
 
Map of Lebanon                          vi
Acknowledgements                       vii
Introduction                             1
1. How it all began                     19
2. The confidence game                  38
3. Talking geography                    57
4. Rose among thorms                    72
5. The maronite record                  87
6. The imagined principality           108
7. The mountain refuge                  130
8. Ottoman Lebanon: how unique?        151
9. Phoenicia resurrected               167
10. Trial and error                    182
11. The war over Lebanon history       200
12. A house of many mansions           216
Selected bibliography                  235
Index                                  238
 
Bibliography:
Abu-Husayn, Abdul-Rahim.  Provincial leaderships in Syria, 1575-1650.
       Beirut, American University of Beirut, 1985.
Ajami, Fouad.  The vanished Imam; Musa al-Sadr and the Shia of 
       Lebanon.  London, I.B.  Tauris, 1986.
Bakhit, Muhammad Adnan.  The Ottoman Province of Damascus in the
       Sixteenth Century.  Beirut, Librairie du Liban, 1982.
Beydoun, Ahmad.  Identite' confessionnelle et temps social chez les
       historiens libanais contemporains.  Beirut, Lebanese University, 1984.
Binder, Leonard, ed.  Politics in Lebanon.  New York, Wiley, 1966.
Buheiri, Marwan.  The Formation and Perception of the Modern Arab World:
       Studies by Marwan Buheiri.   Lawrence I. Conrad, Tarif Khalidi
       and Basim Musallam eds.  Princeton, Darwin Press, 1988.
Chevallier, Dominique.  La socie'te' du Mont-Liban a` l'e'poque de la
       re'volution industrielle en Europe.  Paris, Geuthner, 1971.
Fawaz, Leila Tarazi.  Merchants and Migrants in Nineteenth-Century
       Beirut.  Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1983.
Gordon, David C.  Lebanon: The fragmented nation.  London, Croom Helm,
       1980.
Haddad, Robert, M.  Syrian Christians in Muslim Society: an
       interpretation.  Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, 1970.
Havemann, Acel.  Rurale Bewegunen in Libanonbirge des 19 Jahrhunderts:
       ein Beitrag zur Problematik Sozialer Veranderungen.  Berlin,
       Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1983.
Hourani, Albert.  Syria and Lebanon: a political essay.  London, Oxford
       University Press, 1946.
Hourani, Albert. Minorities in the Arab World.  London, Oxford
       University Press, 1947
Hourani, Albert.  A vision of history.  Beirut, Khayats, 1961.
Hourani, Albert.  Arabic thought in the liberal Age, 1798-1939.  Revised
       edn, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 1983.
Hourani, Albert.  Europe and the Middle East.  London, Macmillan, 1980.
Hourani, Albert.  The Emergence of the Modern Middle East.  London,
       Macmillan, 1981.
Hudson, Michael C.  The precarious republic: Political modernization of
       Lebanon.  New York: Random House, 1968.
Johnson, Michael. "Factional Politics in Lebanon: The case of the
       `Islamic Society of Benevolent Intentions (al-Maqasid)' in
        Beirut."  Middle Eastern Studies 14 (January 1978).
Khoury, Philips S,  Syria and the French Mandate: the politics of Arab
       Nationalism, 1920-2945.  London, I.B. Tauris, 1987.
Khuri, Fuad I.  From village to suburb: Order and change in Greater
       Beirut.  Chicago, Chicago University Press, 1975.
Longrigg, Stephen Hemsley.  Syria and Lebanon under French mandate.
       London, Oxford University Press, 1958.
Moosa, Matti.  The Maronites in History.  Syracuse, NY, Syracuse
       University Press, 1986.
Norton, Augustus Richard.  Amal and the Shia struggle for the soul of
       Lebanon.  Austin, University of Texas Press, 1987.
Owen, Roger, ed. Essays on the crisis in Lebanon.  London, Ithaca Press,
       1976.
Polk, William.  The opening of South Lebanon, 1788-1840. Cambridge,
       Mass, Harvard University Press, 1963.
Rabinovich, Itamar.  The war for Lebanon, 1970-1987,  Ithaca, NY, Cornel
       University Press, 1984.
Rafeq, abdul-Karim.  The Province of Damascus, 1723-1783.  Beirut,
       Khayats, 1966.
Rondot, Pierre.  Les Chre'tiens d'Orient.  Paris, Peyronnet, n.d.
Salibi, Kamal S.  Crossroads to civil war: Lebanon 1958-1976.  Delmar,
       NY, Caravan Books, 1976.
Salibi, Kamal S.  Maronite Historians of Medieval Lebanon.  Beirut,
       American University of Beirut, 1959.
Salibi, Kamal S.  The modern history of Lebanon.  London, Weidenfeld and
       Nicolson, 1985.
Salibi, Kamal S.  Syria under Islam: Empire on trial, 634-1097 A.D.
       Delmar, NY, Caravan Books, 1977.
Salibi, Kamal S.  Muntalaq tarikh Lubnan, 634-1516.  Beirut, Caravan
       Books, 1979.
Spagnolo, John.  France and Ottoman Lebanon: 1861-1914.  London, Ithaca
       Press, 1977.
Tibawi, A.L. A Modern History of Syria including Lebanon and Palestine.
       London, Macmillan, 1969.
Yamak, Labib Zuwiyya.  The Syrian Social Nationalist Party:  an
       Ideological Analysis.  Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press,
       1966.
Zamir, Meir.  The formation of modern Lebanon.  London, Croom Helm,
       1985.
 
No chronology.
 
First impression "Review" [By Bassem Medawar]
---------------------------------------------
Kamal Salibi is a Professor of History at the American University of
Beirut.  In the introduction he states "Officially, the Lebanese
Repubplic still exists within its internationally recognized borders,
and so does the state with its governmental machinery intact.  The
state, however, has long ceased to exercise sovereign control over its
nation territory."
 
Bearing in mind that the book was written ending in February 1988, in
the last year of President Gemayel's term.  The Gemayel government had
long since been expelled from West Beirut, the armed resistance in the
South is pushing the Israeli army out, and the Syrians intervened in
West Beirut to stop the anarchy and the street fighting among the
militias.
 
Starting from the early history of Lebanon in the 20th century,
Salibi sets two conditions for political success: "All that Lebanon
needed to be a success was political accord and an even social
development... However, for exactly these two reasons, it was exactly
these two conditions that proved hard to reach."
 
The reason for the political failure, he states, is the collision of
two forces in Lebanon: Arabism vs Lebanism.  He further states that
Lebanism was mainly lead by the Maronites and the Arabism was mainly
led by the Muslims.
 
Salibi puts the Lebanon history and its problems in the context of the
region.  Many, myself among them, would probably disagree with his
characterization that the failure of the political process is mainly due
to Arabism (spear headed by Muslims) vs. Lebanism (spear headed by
Maronites).  While some of this is true, reducing the whole conflict to
these opposing forces oversimplifies a complex set of relationships.
 
                             - * -
 
Lebanon
Death of a nation
by Sandra Mackey
 
An Anchor Book
Published by Doubleday
a divisin of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
666 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10103
 
"Lebanon: Death of a nation" was originally published in hardcover by Congdon 
& Weed, Inc., in 1989.  The Anchor Books edition is published by arrangement 
with Congdon & Weed, Inc.
 
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 
Mackey, Sandra 1937-
Lebanon: death of a nation/Sandra Mackey.
1st Anchor Books ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Lebanon--Politics and government--1975-    .I. Title
        [DS87.M28  1991]
    956.9204'4--dc20  91-4435
            CIP
 
     ISBN 0-385-41381-5
Lebanon: death of a nation/Sandra Mackey.
 Copyright (c) 1989 by Sandra Mackey
Postscript Copyright (c) 1991 by Sandra Mackey 
 
Table of Contents:
Author's note                                           xi
Acknowledgements                                      xiii
Maps
  Lebanon by geographic region                          xv
  Smaller and Greater Lebanon                         xvii
  Geographic concentration of major communities        xix
  Lebanon, 1989                                        xxi
Chronology                                            xvii
1. Beirut: Paris of the East                             1
2. The levant                                           17
3. The Christians                                       28
4. The Muslims                                          54
5. Culture and conflict                                  81
6. The french legacy                                   105
7. Outsiders, Insiders--The Palestinians               128
8. The foreign powers                                  159
9. The war against the West: The hostages              193
10. Cry, Lebanon                                       222
11. A house divided                                    232
12. Closing the crossroads                             248
Postscript                                             265
Notes                                                  277
Selected Bibliography                                  293
Index                                                  297
 
Bibliography:
N/A "Lebanon: Land of Milk and Honey."  Travel, August 1975.
N/A "Struggle for Lebanon: A Christian Israel."  New Statesman, July 
        6, 1957.
N/A "Went Went Thataway, East!"  Life, January 7, 1966.
Ajami, Fouad.  The vanished Imam; Musa al-Sadr and the Shia of 
       Lebanon.  Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1986.
Ajami, Fouad.  The Arab predicament: Arab political thought and 
       practice since 1967.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1981.
Ajami, Fouad.  "The shadows of Hell".  Foreign Policy 48 (Fall 1982).
Awal, Habib J.  "Threat to Lebanon".  Commonweal, August 8, 1947.
Bailey, Clinton. "Facing a wounded tiger."  Jerusalem Post Magazine,
       March 16, 1985.
Barakat, Halim.  "Social and Political Integration in Lebanon: A 
       Case of social Mosaic."  Middle East Journal 27 (Summer 1973).
Betts, Robert Brenton.  Christians in the Arab East.  Atlanta: John Knox
       Press, 1978.
Bill, James A., and Carl Leiden.  Politics in the Middle East.  
       Boston:  Little, Brown, 1984.
Bogardus, Emory S.  "Social change in Lebanon."  Sociology and Social
       Research 39 (March-April 1955).
Bulloch, John.  Final Conflict: The War in Lebanon in Lebanon.  London:
       Century Publishing, 1983.
Churchill, Charles H.  The Druzes and the Maronites under Turkish Rule
       from 1840 to 1860.  London: Bernard Quaritch 1862.
Cobban, Helena.  The Making of Modern Lebanon.  Boulder Colo.: Westview
       Press, 1985.
Cole, Juan R. I., and Nikki R. Keddie. Shii'ism and Social Protest.  New
       Haven, Conn.:  Yale University Press, 1986.
Dawisha, Adeed, "The Motives of Syria's Involvement in Lebanon."  Middle
       East Journal 38 (Spring 1984).
Deeb, Marius.  "Lebanon's Continuing Conflict."  Current History 34
       (January 1985).
Eveland, Wilbur Crane.  Ropes of Sand: America's Failure in the Middle
       East.  New York: W. W. Norton, 1980.
Fadlallah, Sheik Mohammed Hussein.  Islam and the Logic of Force.
       Beirut: Al Dar al Islamiya, 1981.
Fisher, Sydney Nettleton.  The Middle East: A History, 2nd ed. New York:
       Alferd Knopf, 1969.
Frank, Benis M.  U.S. Marines in Lebanon, 1982-1984.  (monograph)
       Washington, D.C.: History and Museums Division, U.S. Marines
       Corps, 1987.
Frye, Richard N.  Islam and the West.  The Hague: Mouton and Company,
       1957.
Fuller, Anne H.  Buarij: Portrait of a Lebanese Muslim Village.
       Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970.
Gilmour, David.  Lebanon: The Fractured Country.  New York: St. Martin's
       Press, 1984.
Gordon, David C.  Lebanon: The fragmented nation.  London, Croom Helm,
       1980.
Goria, Wade R.  Sovereignty and Leadership in Lebanon, 1943-1976.
       London: Ithaca Press, 1985.
Gubser, Peter.  "The Politics of Economic Interest Groups in a Lebanese
       Town."  Middle East Studies 11 (October 1975).
Hameed, Mazher A.  Arabia Imperilled: The security Imperatives of the
       Arab Gulf States.  Washington, D.C.:  Middle East Assessments
       Group, 1986.
Hitti, Philip K. Lebanon in History: From the Earliest Times to the
       Present.  London: Macmillan and Company, Ltd., 1957.
Hitti, Philip K.  The origins of the Druz People and religion.  New
       York: Ams Press, 1966.
Hudson, Michael C.  The precarious republic: Political modernization of
       Lebanon.  New York: Random House, 1968.
Hudson, Michael C.  "Democracy and Social Mobilization in Lebanese
       Politics."  Comperative Politics I (January 1969).
Hudson, Michael C.  "The Palestinian Factor in the Lebanese Civil War,"
       Middle East Journal 32 (Summer 1978).
Jabbra, Joseph G., and Nancy W. Jabbra "Local Political Dynamics in
       Lebanon: The case of Ain al-Aasis."  Anthropological Quarterly 51
       (April 1978).
Jansen, Michael.  The Battle of Beirut.  London: Zed Press, 1982.
Johnson, Michael. "Factional Politics in Lebanon: The case of the
       `Islamic Society of Benevolent Intentions (al-Maqasid)' in
        Beirut."  Middle Eastern Studies 14 (January 1978).
Johnson, Michael.  Class and client in Beirut: the Suni Muslim community
       anf the Lebanese state, 1840-1895.  London, Ithaca Press, 1986.
Khalaf, Samir.  Lebanon's Predicament.  New York: Columbia University
       Press, 1987.
Khalidi, Walid.  Conflict and Violence in Lebanon.  Cambridge, Mass.:
       Harvard University for International Affairs, 1979.
Khuri, Fuad I.  From village to suburb: Order and change in Greater
       Beirut.  Chicago, Chicago University Press, 1975.
Lamb, David.  The Arabs: Journeys Beyond the Mirage.  New York: Random
       House, 1987.
Leibling, A.J., "Along the Visa Via."  The New Yorker, August 23, 1958.
       Lewis, Bernard.  The Political Language of Islam.  Chicago:
       University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Longrigg, Stephen Hemsley.  Syria and Lebanon under French mandate.
       London, Oxford University Press, 1958.
Lewis, Bernard.  The political Language of Islam.  Chicago: University 
       of Chicago Press, 1988.
McDowall, David.  Lebanon: A conflict of Minorities.  London: Minority
       Rights Group, Ltd., 1983.
Meo, Leila M. T.  Lebanon: Improbable Nation: A Study in Poltical
       Development.  Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1965.
Morris, Benny.  The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949.
       Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Muir, Jim.  "Lebanon: Arena of Conflicts, Crucible of Peace."  Middle
       East Journal 38 (Spring 1984).
Nasr, Nafhat, and Monte Palmer.  "Alienation and Political Participation
       in Lebanon."  International Journal of Middle East Studies 8
       (October 1977).
Nazir-Ali, Michael.  Islam: A Christian Perspective.  Philadelphia:
       Westminister Press, 1983.
Norton, Augustus Richard.  External Interventions and the Politics of
       Lebanon.  Washington, D.C.: Washington Institute for Values in
       Public Policy, 1984.
Norton, Augustus Richard.  Amal and the Shia struggle for the soul of
       Lebanon.  Austin, University of Texas Press, 1987.
Owen, Roger, ed. Essays on the crisis in Lebanon.  London, Ithaca Press,
       1976.
Pitai, Raphael.  The Arab Mind, rev. ed. New York: Charles Scribner's
       Sons, 1983.
Quandt, William B.  "Reagan's Lebanon Policy: Trial and Error."  Middle
       East Journal 38 (Spring 1984).
Rabinovich, Itamar.  The war for Lebanon, 1970-1987,  Ithaca, NY, Cornel
       University Press, 1984.
Ramazani, R.K.  Revolutionary Iran: Challenge and Response in the Middle
       East.  Baltimore, Md.:  The John Hopkins University Press, 1986.
Randal, Jonathan C.  Going All the Way: Christian Warlords, Israeli
       Adventurers, and the War in Lebanon.  New York: Viking Press,
       1983.
Salibi, Kamal S.  Crossroads to civil war: Lebanon 1958-1976.  Delmar,
       NY, Caravan Books, 1976.
Schiff, Ze'ev, and Ehud Ya'ari.  Israel's Lebanon War.  New York: Simon
       and Schuster, 1984.
Schmidt, Dana Adams.  Armageddon in the Middle East.  New York: John
       Day, 1974.
Snider, Lewis A.  "The Lebanese Forces: Their Origins and Role in
       Lebanon's Politics."  Middle East Journal 38 (Winter 1984).
Soffer, Aron.  "Lebanon--Where Demography Is the Core of Politics and
       Life."  Middle East Studies 22 (April 1986).
Urquhart, David.  The Mountain: Mt. Souria: A History and a Diary.
       London:  Thomas Cautley Newby, 1860.
Vocke, Harold.  The Lebanese War: Its Origins and Political Dimensions.
       New York: St. Martin's Press, 1978.
Wechsberg, Joseph.  "Letter from Lebanon."  The New Yorker, November 8,
       1952.
Weinberger, Naomi Joy.  Syrian Intervention in Lebanon.  New York:
       Oxford, 1986.
Weir, Ben and Carol Weir.  Hostage Bound, Hostage Free.  Philadelphia:
       Westminster Press, 1987.
Wolfe, Gayle, and Alia Mounribi.  "A Comparison of the Value System of
       Lebanese Christians and Muslim Men and Women."  Journal of Social
       Psychology 125.  (December 1985).
Wright, Robin.  Sacred Rage: The Warth of Militant Islam.  New York:
       Simon and Schuster, 1985.
 
Chronology:
1861
               The "Mountain" declared an autonomous province within the
                Ottoman Empire.
1920
      August 31 Establishment of Greater Lebanon under the French
                Mandate.
1943
                The National Pact
1946
                Final Withdrawal of French forces, leading to an
                independent Lebanese republic; Bishara Khoury elected
                president.
1947
                War for Palestine sends first influx of Palestinians
                into Lebanon.
1952
                Camil Chamoun becomes Lebanon's second president.
1958
                First Lebanese war; Fuad Shihab begins his term as
                president.
1964
                Charles Helou elected president
1968
      December  Israeli raids Beirut Airport; marks beginning of conflict
                within Lebanon over the Palestinian issue.
1969
      November  Lebanese government grants certain concessions to PLO in
                Cairo Agreement.
1970
                Suleiman Franjieh becomes president;  PLO transfers its
                main base to Lebanon following defeat in Jordanian civil
                war.
1975
      April 13  Opening phase of the Lebanese civil war.
1976
      June      Syrian army intervenes in Lebanon.
1978
      March     Israel launches Litani operation in Southern Lebanon.
   August 31    Musa al Sadr disappears.
1980
      January   Second Syrian deployment in Lebanon
1982
      April 6   Israel invades lebanon in Operation Big Pines
  June-August   Israeli siege of Beirut.
  August 8      United States negotiates agreement for the withdrawal of
                the PLO from Beirut.
  August 23     Bashir Gemayel elected president
  August 25     U.S. Marines land in Beirut as part of the
                Multi-National Force; evacuation of PLO begins.
  September 10  Troops MNF withdraw from Lebanon
  September 14  Bashir Gemayel assassinated.
  September 16  Massacre of residents of Sabra and Shatilla begins.
  September 20  U.S. Marines ordered back into Lebanon.
1983
      April 18  U.S. embassy in Beirut bombed.
  September 19  U.S. naval vessels shell Souq al Gharb.
    October 23  U.S. Marines barracks bombed; quarters of French
                contingent of MNF attacked.
1984
      February  Shiites take control of West Beirut; United States and
                other nations of MNF withdraw from Lebanon.
      March     Militant Islamic groups pursue hostage taking as a tool
                in their war against the West.
   September 20 Temporary quarters of US embassy in Beirut bombed.
1985
      January   Israel announces three-stage withdrawal from Lebanon.
      May       Beginning of "Camp Wars" between Amal and the Palestinians.
      June 14   Hijacking of TWA flight 847
1987
      February  Fighting between Amal and pro-Arafat factions of PLO in
                West beirut;  Syrians increase their military presence.
1988
      May       Amal and Hizbollah battle for control of Beirut's
                Southern suburbs; more Syrian army troops deployed.
  September 23  Lebanon fails to elect a new president; rival Christian
                and Muslim governments established.
 
 
First impression "Review" [By Bassem Medawar]
---------------------------------------------
Mackey writes: "... this book explores the agonizing divisions
within Lebanon between its Arab soul and its Western veneer."
 
To put the book in chronological perspective, it comes few months after
the previous, Salibi, book when Lebanon failed to elect a new president.
As a result, rival Christian and Muslim governments got established in
different parts of the country.
 
This book is more satisfying to read than Salibi's book as it covers
more details and is less dogmatic than Salibi's.  While Salibi's book
seems to suggest a reason why Lebanon died, this book simply illustrates
HOW lebanon died.  In the chapter "Cry, Lebanon", the author tells a
moving story about a couple, George and Nadia, who got married the day
the war began in 1975 and lived through its worst moments.  George
survived a broken skull in an explosion which also blew his nephew's
head away.  Nadia was burried in the basement of her office building
but managed to claw her way with co-workers.
 
In a postscript, written in January 1991, the author updates her book
briefly with the story of Aoun's rise and fall.  The postscript ends
with the reminder that foreign troops still dominate in Lebanon.
 
                             - * -
 
Beirut fragments
A war memoir
by Jean Said Makdisi
 
Copyright (c) 1990 by Jean Said Makdisi
 
For information, write to the publisher:
Persea Books, Inc.
60 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10010
 
Library of Congress cataloging in Publication Data
 
Makdisi, Jean Said
 
Beirut fragments; a war memoir / Jean Said Makdisi
 
p. cm.
ISBN 0-89255-164-X
1. Lebanon--History--1975-  2. Makdisi, Jean Sadi.  3. Beirut
                                               ^[sic.]
  (Lebanon)--Description.  I. Title.
  DS87.M355     1989    89-26533
  956.9204'4--dc 20     CIP
 
Portions of this book have previously appeared,
in somewhat different form, in Wigwag, Harper's, The /new York Review of Books,
and Raritan: A Quarterly Review.
 
 
Table of contents:
Chronology                                                      11
I. Prologue                                                     17
II. Crisis, with a glossary of terms used in times of crisis    33
III. Beirut: A new topography                                   67
IV. Mirrors, or contradictions: A self-portrait                  91
V. Summer 1982: The Israeli invasion                           151
VI. Ghosts: A meditation on the Massacres                      191
VII. Remnants                                                  205
VIII. Beirut: An alphabet                                      247
 
No bibliography.
 
Chronology:
1975
      April 13  A series of local and regional developments lead to the 
                sparking incident of the war in a Beirut suburb.  
                Battles between the PLO and the Kataeb (Phalange) 
                Christian militia later spread to other parts of Beirut, 
                especially the downtown area which is totally destroyed 
                and eventually becomes part of the demarcation line 
                between the two part of the city.  Many Militias are 
                formed on both sides.  Hundreds of civilians are killed 
                or taken hostage.   The Lebanese government is divided, 
                and later the army is split behind the warring factions.  
                The militias gradually usurp many functions of the 
                state.
1976
      January   A ferocious battle is faught in the slum of Karantina,
                which falls to the Kataeb.  Later in the month, the
                Christian town of Damour is sacked in retaliation.  In
                both places, scores of civilians are killed and the
                remnants evicted.
      May       The Parliament elects a new president, Elias Sarkis.
      Summer    A great battle in the Palestinian refugee camp of
                Tal-el-Zaatar ends with the defeat of the PLO forces
                there.  Again, scores of civilians are killed and the
                rest evicted.  The Syrian army intervenes directly in 
                Lebanon for the first time.
      October   A ceasefire called by a summit meeting of Arab states in
                Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is backed in November by the
                arrival of peacekeeping troops from Syria, Sudan, Yemen,
                and Saudia Arabia.  Later all the Arab forces, except
                for the Syrians, will withdraw.
1978
      February  A clash occurs between the Syrian and Lebanese Armies at
                Fayadieh, and the truce collapses.  Fighting resumes
                everywhere, with the PLO controlling the south of the
                country and the border with Israel, as well as West
                Beirut.  Syria maintains its presence in Beirut and
                controls the Bekaa valley and the north.
      March     Israel launches Litani operation in Southern Lebanon.  A
                major Israeli incursion into the South ends with the
                deployment of United Nations troops on the Lebanese-Israeli
                border.  Fighting continues in Beirut and elsewhere in
                the country.  Militias on both sides are backed by
                various foreign powers, including Israel which sets up
                the South Lebanon Army.
1979
      February  The Iranian revolution takes place and helps radicalize
                part of the Shiite movement in Lebanon.
1980
      July      Bashir Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb militia, unites all
                the Christians militias by force, naming his new
                coalition the Lebanese Forces.
1982
     Summer     The Israelis invade Lebanon and lay siege to West 
                Beirut.  Syrian troops withdraw from Beirut.  In late 
                August, PLO troops are evacuated under the supervision 
                of troops from the United States, France, Great Britain, 
                and Italy, who then depart.  The Parliament meets on August
                23 and elects Bashir Gemayel president.  On September 14,  
                Bashir Gemayel is assassinated and Israeli troops move 
                into West Beirut where hundreds of Palestinian civilians 
                in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila are massacred 
                by members of the Lebanese Forces undeterred by the Israelis.
                The multinational troops return to protect the camps and 
                keep the peace.  The Israelis withdraw from Beirut.  The 
                Parliament meets again on September 22 and elects 
                Bashir's brother, Amin Gemayel, president.
                During the Israeli occupation of Beirut, armed resistance
                to their presence begins which will later move to the 
                south.
1983
      April 18  The United states embassy in West Beirut is blown up. 
                Press reports claim an important CIA meeting was in 
                progress.
      Summer    The Israelis withdraw from the Shouf mountains, and
                heavy fighting ensues between the Lebanese Forces and
                the Druse militia, the Progressive Socialist Party,
                which results in a mass exodus of Christians from the
                region.  During the fighting, many towns are destroyed
                on both sides and hundreds of civilians killed,
                especially in the Christian town of Bhamdoun.
     October    The United States and French marines head-quarters are 
                blown up, resulting in hundreds of casualties.
1984
      February  Shiites take control of West Beirut; United States and
                other nations of MNF withdraw from Lebanon.  The
                Lebanese army, which has been in control of Beirut since
                the Israeli withdrawal, is expelled from West Beirut,
                accused of partnership with the Lebanese Forces, mass
                arrests, etc.  That part of the army which remains
                proves ineffective in maintaining order.  Militias,
                especially the Shiite Amal and the Druse Progressive
                Socialist Party, take over control of West Beirut.  The
                multi-national forces withdraw from Lebanon.  Battles
                among the militias in West Beirut occur over the next
                few years.
1985
      February  The Israelis withdraw from Sidon, but remain in the
                South.  Armed resistance to Israeli occupation
                intensifies, while fighting southeast of Sidon leads to
                the evacuation of Christian villages there.  The first
                armed demonstration of Hizbollah, which is backed by
                Iran, takes place in the predominantly Shiite, southern
                suburb of Beirut.
      October   A massive car bomb in the southern suburb of Beirut,
                directed at the spiritual leader of Hezbollah, Sheik
                Fadlallah, is blamed on the CIA.  Many of the huge car
                bombs and political assassinations that periodically
                shake the city are popularly attributed to "the
                intelligence services war" between many countries
                involved in Lebanon.
1987
      February  At the request of the authorities in West Beirut, the
                Syrian army intervenes once again to put a stop to the
                anarchy and street fighting among the militias.  Heavy
                fighting later begins between Amal and Hezbollah.
 
      December  As the Intifada begins on the West Bank and in Gaza, the
                resistance to Israeli occupation in south Lebanon
                continues.  It includes civilian protest and armed
                attacks by leftist, nationalist, and Muslim groups.  By
                now the Israelis have imprisoned hundreds of Lebanese
                and Palestinians, whose release is among the demands of
                those holding Western hostages in Beirut.
1988
  September 23  As the term of President Amin Gemayel expires,
                Parliament fails to elect a new president.  In his last
                official action, Gemayel appoints the commander of the
                army, General Michel Aoun, as interim prime minister.
                Neither Aoun nor his government is recognized by the
                authorities in West Beirut, where what is left of the
                former cabinet continues to govern.
1989
      February  After a battle with the Lebanese Forces, General Aoun
                closes their illegal ports and wrests control of the
                Port of Beirut from them.  He blockades the illegal
                ports in West Beirut and the south.
      March 14  General Aoun declares war on the Syrian presence in
                Lebanon.  Seven months of cross-town shelling end with a
                ceasefire negotiated by the Arab League.
      October   The Lebanese Parliament meets in Taif, Saudi Arabia and
                negotiates a settlement of the conflict, including
                political reforms and a schedule for the withdrawal of
                Syrian troops from the country.
      November  The Parliament meets again in Koleiat, in North Lebanon,
                ratifies the Taif accord, and elects Rene' Moawad
                president.  Shortly before, in an action which is widely
                viewed outside the bounds of legality, Aoun dissolves
                Parliament.  He rejects the Taif accord and denies the
                legitimacy of Moawad's election.  The international
                community, including the great powers, recognizes
                Moawad, who is also backed by most domestic parties.
   November 22  President Moawad is assassinated.  Within a few days the
                Parliament elect Elias Hrawi president.  As before,
                General Aoun denies the legitimacy of Parliament's
                action.  Hrawi forms a government, and a new commander
                of the army is appointed.
1990
    January 30  Heavy fighting begins in the eastern region between that
                part of the Lebanese army which is still under the
                command of General Aoun and the Lebanese Forces.  As the
                battles rage on, the Lebanese Forces acknowledge the
                legitimacy of the Hrawi government.  In the meantime,
                sporadic fighting continues between Amal and Hezbollah.
                Resistance to the Israeli occupation also continues, as
                do Israeli reprisal raids.
 
 
First impression "Review" [By Bassem Medawar]
---------------------------------------------
This book is delightful to read, if such a statement can be said about a
war book.  It is written from the inside out by an English and
Humanities teacher at the BUC who lived through the war.  The book reads
more like a diary than a political treatise.  It begins with "a glossary
of terms used in times of crisis" and ends with "Beirut: An alphabet".
 
The glossary explains common, Lebanese dialect, words like:
 
        al'ane          It is being hooked or it is tangling
        shu fi?         What's going on?
        mafishi         Nothing
        tawattur        tension
        himyit          It is getting hot
        khirbit al dinya  The world was destroyed
        sihtak bil dinya  Your health is worth everything in the world
 
etc.. one of the funniest expressions is
 
        lah, haitha bab   No, that's a door [as opposed to an explosion]
 
The last chapter, "beirut: An alphabet" looks like an alphabet Z-to-A but
reads like a poetic prose:
 
Zbale           Garbage surrounds us, everywhere we look, there are
                piles of rubbish, debris, there is stench and ugliness, we
 
Yield           Always we yield to the force of things, we are in danger
                of surrendering to despair, and to the ease of
 
Xenophobia      there is always someone else to blame for what has
                happened to us, it's never our fault, oh no, and
                meanwhile we are
 
Waiting         always waiting, for the others, for the solution,
                waiting for them to let the water come gurgling into our
                empty taps, waiting for the walls to crumble
 
etc... then towards the end:
 
                Our senses are dulled by the
 
Catastrophe     that has been upon us here in
 
Beirut          --poor, ugly, stricken Beirut, broken Beirut, unloved
                city, lost Beirut, like the child in the tale, torn between
                two mothers, but no Solomon here, no true mother.
 
Beirut          pleads to be redeemed, but not by
 
Another
 
Army.
 
 
To put the book in Chronological perspective, the last dated entry in
the book (journal) is February, 1990, when the house of the author
received a direct hit.  The author then questions:
 
"... who is ultimately responsible for these fifteen years of war and
misery?  Will there some day be trials and individuals held accountable?
To what extent are the people, all of us, to bear the blame?"
 
The chapter before last ends with a positive note: "But the outcome the
vast majority of people continue to hope for is the restoration of total
peace... The militias would be dissolved... Freedom of thought and
speech would be given a new impetus... It is on this hope that we
continue to build our lives, is spite of the difficulties."

bassem

al@mashriq