Introduction

Lebanon in the 1970s could not really be called a nation. More accurately, it was a constellation of warring states within a state. Palestinian guerrillas, Shiite Muslims, right-wing Christian Phalangists and leftist Sunni Muslims fought together as well as against one another for control of Lebanon's destiny. Israel, Iran, Syria, France and the United States also had a hand in the fighting. The key vehicle for Shiite self-expression, Hezbollah (the Party of God) emerged as a product of this conflict in the form not only of a militant organization but also of a shadowy state-within-a-state.

by David Montero
David Montero is a freelance journalist based in Oakland, California.

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