A Delicate Mission
Can Foreign Intervention Stop the Conflicts in the Middle East?
The various factions don't always get along, but their fates are married - for better or worse. While Hezbollah, Iran's extended arm, stokes the fire, new conflicts with Israel in Southern Lebanon are a constant threat; and in neighbouring Syria a civil war is about to erupt.
Since the Israeli bombing in the summer of 2006 there has been no more major military confrontations in Lebanon. Karin Kneissl, an internationally renowned Austrian Middle East expert has been studying the country since her childhood days, when the country was known as the "Switzerland of the Middle East." She is touched by the sight of marathon runners celebrating in places of recent conflict; 'This is a wonderful development.' But the situation is tense; five French peacekeepers were recently injured in a bomb attack. Can the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission make a difference here and what is the future of Lebanon with the Arab world in turmoil?
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