text: There is nothing new about any of this. Since the end of the Second World War and possibly even before, maybe even as far back as the Crusades,  the country of Lebanon has been used as a proxy battleground for all of the competing interests active in the middle east. From domestic internal conflicts, civil wars between Christians and Muslims, regional middle east disputes, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Israel and everybody, and Russia and America playing the role of the big brothers, Lebanon somehow finds itself in the middle of the violence, as an assortment of factions fight to gain leverage for peace talks. Its too simple to lay the blame on the people of Lebanon or a weak government since both are really a victim external conflicting parties. What might make this more dangerous in 2017 is now that the United States has abdicated its role as the moral leader of international affairs these smaller conflicts no longer have any limits. And that could mean anything is possible.