Survey of Terrorism ••• 425Lebanon, despite the Syrian occupation (or because of it), has recovered
economically from its long civil war and has restored its parliamentary de¬
mocracy, although in 2004 a dispute arose out of attempts to revise its con¬
stitution to extend the presidency of Emile Lahud, widely viewed as
pro-Syrian. Lebanon's economy grew rapidly during the 1990s but has
slowed since 2000. Most industries and business firms are privately owned.
Its banks, financial services, and universities are well developed. As
Lebanon's government grew stronger, the private militias that arose and
throve during the civil war faded away, except for Shi'i-backed Hizballah.
Since Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops from the "security zone" in
2000, it has accused Lebanon of allowing raids and rocket attacks against
its territory, and Israel occasionally stages retaliation raids of its own into
Lebanon. About 16,000 Syrian troops remained in Lebanon. The assassina¬
tion in February 2005 of Lebanon's former prime minister, Rafiq Hariri,
who had resigned in 2004 in protest against extending Lahud's presidency,
threatened the post-1991 peace. Many Lebanese have come to resent Syria's
prolonged occupation. Accusing (without firm evidence) the Syrian gov¬
ernment of engineering the Hariri assassination, they organized protest
demonstrations, including some Sunni Muslims, Christians of many (but
not all) sects, and Druze, demanding Syria's withdrawal. Shi'i Muslims now
constitute Lebanon's largest confessional group. Led by Hizballah, they
staged a counter-demonstration, supporting the Syrian presence as a stabi¬
lizing influence. Under pressure from both within and without Lebanon,
the Syrian government, after consulting with Arab League members, de¬
cided to withdraw its remaining troops from the country prior to Leba¬
non's May 2005 national assembly elections.
Jordan has successfully evolved from a desert emirate into a stable and
prosperous kingdom because it has managed to retain the political and at
times economic support of the other Arab countries. It is now a leader in
urbanization, education, adult literacy, use of cell phones, and access to the
Internet. It suffered from the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 because of
the loss of its oil and the influx of additional Iraqi refugees, leading to un¬
employment approaching 25 percent.
Reportedly, Jordan now closely, if very quietly, cooperates with the US
and its actions in Iraq. A large Palestinian population has been absorbed
into Jordan's political, social, and economic system. They, like most other
Jordanians, suspect America's motives and strongly oppose Israel. The Jor¬
danian government must balance several strategic, and often competing,
interests, including relying on US economic aid, maintaining friendly
terms with Israel, and placating a citizenry who resent both situations.