Lebanese Elections
BY: Abedaslam Ayesh

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/world/middleeast/08lebanon.html?_r=1&ref=world

The contested parliamentary election has been described as a showdown between Iranian and American influence in the Middle East. The elections for the 128-seat Lebanese Parliament will decide which of two broad political blocs will win the power to build the next government — either a coalition led by the Shiite militant group Hezbilallah and its allies from a prominent Christian party, aligned with Iran and Syria, or a bloc of primarily Sunni, Druze and Christian parties aligned with the West and Saudi Arabia.
It is expected to be a close race, with political analysts saying that as few as seven seats may decide the outcome of the contest. With the race so close, and the districts so small, political analysts said that the outcome could come down to rampant vote-buying efforts by politicians across the spectrum.
Three groups of election monitors have been deployed, including former Preside Jimmy Carter’s organization. But even before the race began, it was marred by charges of unprecedented vote buying. In the most contested districts there were reports of votes being bought for as much as $2,000, and thousands of expatriate Lebanese received all expense paid trips to Lebanon to vote. The election, however, seemed less about the immediate management of the state than about its future identity, many political analysts said. Because Lebanon remains chronically divided and deeply in debt, political analysts said that they expected that no matter who wins, to preserve stability there will have to be a national unity government where the minority has a blocking veto, just as it does now.
I believe the US has to gain control over Lebanon because of it’s history of conflict and breeding ground of terrorism it must be contained and eventually eradicated (terrorism).