Lebanon is in turmoil following the assassination last week of Rafik Hariri, the enormously charismatic and effective former prime minister and construction magnate who rebuilt the country in the 1990s following its 15-year civil war.
The most prominent banner at his huge funeral asked "Who else but Syria?" could have killed him. Since then there have been large demonstrations in favour of Syrian withdrawal from the country and widespread talk of a democratic and peaceful movement for Lebanese independence. Yesterday Mr Omar Karamé, the pro-Syrian prime minister, offered to resign.
Internationally, too, there has been greatly increased pressure on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, led by President George Bush on his current European trip. These calls are closely associated with the wider Middle East political environment, including Iraq, Iran and Israel. Since many of the region's conflicts run through Lebanon, there is much more to its politics than readily meets the eye, of which many Irish people are well aware because of the prolonged Irish service in the Unifil force in southern Lebanon from 1978 onwards.
Syria became directly involved in Lebanon when the civil war broke out in 1975, a conflict that also drew in Israel, which captured the Syrian Golan Heights in 1967. There was a strategic rationale for its intervention, involving over 35,000 troops at one stage, reduced by now to 14,000 troops and a larger number of paramilitary and intelligence forces who still effectively control the country's security. But over the years Syria's presence has taken on a much larger purpose. Up to a quarter of a million Syrian workers work there. Large scale investments and trade give Syria an economic window on the world. This role was enhanced following the fall of Saddam Hussein and his Ba'ath party in Iraq, leaving the Syrian Ba'ath regime much more isolated and under severe US pressure for supporting the Iraqi resistance.
Rafik Hariri tolerated the Syrian presence as prime minister but indicated before his death that he was moving towards the anti-Syrian opposition in this summer's elections. That may well explain why he was targeted, as many Lebanese believe. But not all of them are opposed to the Syrian presence, since the Shia Amal and Hizbullah parties, both represented in the parliament, align themselves with Damascus and Tehran. France and the US are united on the need for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, but differ on whether Hizbullah is a terrorist organisation. This echoes French and US differences on Israel and Iran and serve as a reminder that civil and regional wars are the backdrop to Lebanon's fractured politics.