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What is the relationship between Syria and Lebanon

Since the ancient Roman period, Syria and Lebanon have been governed by the Roman, Byzantine, Arab Empire and Ottoman Turkish Empire successively, and belonged to the same administrative region in most periods. Due to different religious beliefs, the major empires treat Syria and Lebanon differently, but overall, there is not much historical grudge between Syria and Lebanon.

In the 19th century, due to the conflict between the Maronites and Druze sects in Lebanon, the Ottoman Turkish government was forced to separate Lebanon from Syria as a mountain parish to protect Christians under pressure from France and others. At the end of World War I, Lebanon was under French control, while Syria was under British control. In 1920, the League of Nations formally entrusted Syria and Lebanon to French rule, after which the two countries declared independence in 1941 and 1943, respectively.

After Syria’s independence, there have been several twists and turns in domestic politics. There were two bloodless coups in Syria, in 1949 and 1954, that changed governments. Between 1958 and 1961, it merged with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic. In 1961, a coup d’état took place in Syria, which seceded from the United Arab Emirates. Since then, there have been two coups in March 1963 and November 1970, respectively, and the Baath Party leader Assad took charge of Syria. After Assad’s death in 2000, his son Bashar took over as president.

Lebanon is even more ill-fated. In the first ten years after independence, because the President, Prime Minister and Speaker of the National Assembly were respectively held by Maronite Christians, Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims, Lebanon’s political development was relatively smooth and the economy was relatively prosperous. From 1958, the situation in Lebanon became complicated. Influenced by pan-Arab ideals on the one hand, and with the influx of Palestine refugees on the other hand, the Muslims in Lebanon believed that their numbers were growing rapidly and that they should have more state power than Christians. The regime revolted, but was suppressed by the central government with the help of American troops. From this time on, Lebanon has had no peace.

After the Palestine Liberation Organization moved its headquarters from Jordan to Lebanon in 1970, it has repeatedly crossed the border to attack northern Israel, but the Christian-controlled Lebanese government has tried to curb the PLO’s military operations in Lebanese territory. Therefore, the PLO has supported Muslims in the internal conflict in Lebanon. By 1975, civil unrest in Lebanon had escalated into an open war between the country’s Muslims and Palestinians on one side and Christians on the other. The war did not end until 1991 and lasted for more than a dozen years, killing 140,000 people and killing hundreds of people. billions of dollars in economic losses.

During the Lebanese civil war, 35,000 Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976 under the name of the “Arab Deterrence Force”, and 16,000 are still stationed in eastern Lebanon today. Syria does this for multiple purposes: first, to maintain the stability of its neighbors, protect the peaceful life of various ethnic groups in Lebanon, and prevent civil strife from spreading to the country; second, to prevent Israeli forces from entering Lebanon; third, to enter Lebanon on the grounds of mediating the civil war, thereby establishing its own power , to achieve the purpose of controlling Lebanon in regional and international relations.

In a certain sense, it can be said that the relationship between Syria and Lebanon is not only the epitome of the complex ethnic and religious conflicts in the Middle East, but also the epitome of the conflict of different civilizations, and the epitome of the contradictions and conflicts among world powers. As long as Syria’s position of supporting Arab countries in the Middle East and its goal of becoming a regional power remain unchanged, the United States will remain on alert, hostile and even suppress Syria, and the grievances between Syria and Lebanon will not be finally resolved.