Lebanon in the CIA World Factbook
10452
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook 2004.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/le.html
This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004
Background:
Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions
since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-year civil war. Under the
Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese
have established a more equitable political system, particularly by
giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while
institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end
of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections,
most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese
Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over
about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a party,
retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 16,000 troops in Lebanon,
based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop
deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil
war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military
presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the
Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in
the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from its security zone in
southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese
Christians and Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well.