For decades now, a constant militaristic struggle has yet to cease. No, not Afghanistan. No, not Iraq, Iran or Saudi Arabia either. But one of the allies of the US ever since its creation in 1948 – Israel with his next door neighbor Lebanon. Due to the formation of Israel, many Arab countries have instigated violence against the UN created country, resulting in the deaths thousands of men on both sides of the battlefield. Years and years of fighting and guerrilla attacks, the most recent and probably the most serious one being the attacks of January 2015, has gotten the two countries into a midst of terror and turmoil. Yet the two countries never actually settled on any peace agreements of any kind after almost 70 years. What has been happening in this area of the Middle East that resulted in such tension and brutality?
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Taking a look back in time, the violence between the two Arab countries never really ensued until the late 1960’s, when Palestinian guerrillas became increasingly active. Due to the attack on an Israeli airline in 1968 caused by the Lebanese, Israeli commandos targeted and bombed 13 Lebanese airlines in Beirut in retaliation. Seeing the ruthlessness Israel could potentially release, Lebanon signed an agreement allowing the Palestinian guerrillas to occupy the southern portion of their country as a offensive and defensive maneuver. Now, things really began to escalate. Both Israel and Lebanon initiated numerous attacks on major cities and infrastructure. In 1974, Palestinian troops invaded the Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, killing 16 civilians, most of which were women and children. Just a month following this episode of violence, another attack on a school in Maalot resulted in the deaths of 20 more teenagers.

Israel, like any other country, didn’t just sit back and watch as the Palestinian guerillas and Lebanese soldiers rampaged through their country. Despite the enormous aggression from the Lebanese, they decided to invade Lebanon directly. Twice, actually, with Operation Litani in 1978, which secured the southern portion of Lebanon as part of Israel, and the 1982 Lebanon War that resulted in the deaths of approximately 5,000-8,000 civilians. Due to Israeli intervention directly in Lebanon, the Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, was fully consolidated, with the primary purpose of expelling the Israeli out of Lebanon. They succeed for the most part, as Israeli troops withdrew in 2000.

Both the Hezbollah and the Israeli have had possession of missiles and rockets for quite a while now, which led both countries spiralling into the 2006 Lebanon War, yet another war – shocking. On July 12, 2006, the Hezbollah initiated rocket attacks on villages along the Israeli-Lebanese border, killing 8 people, while also kidnapping 2 others. Israel responded with massive airstrikes throughout Lebanon as well as a ground invasion. In August of 2006, the UN intervened and both sides agreed to a ceasefire, but over 1,100 Lebanese and Israeli citizens lost their lives.
But, unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. In the past 9 years, countless attacks resulted in the deaths of countless soldiers as both sides exchanged fire between the border.

The most recent activity between the two countries arose in January of 2015, only a few months ago. Hezbollah killed 2 soldiers in retaliation of an airstrike that occurred 9 days prior to this incident, which raises the potential for extreme warfare. Since 2006, both countries have improved their militaristic capabilities by creating more missiles and rockets while strengthening their soldiers. Both countries have also built air defenses against the rockets used, and all in all, the war seems to be at a continuous stalemate. But fighting done between the two countries not only causes civilian and military casualties, it produces infrastructure destruction and economic devastation for both countries.
Looking into the future, the fate of the two countries look bleak and desolate. These two Arab nations have fought for virtually 70 years, yet  continuously engage in warfare without any restraint. It must be hard for the Israeli and Lebanese citizens to live a normal life, wondering everyday, “When will it end?”


1.http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/a-war-like-no-other-israel-vs.-hezbollah-in-2015
2.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/07/17/AR2006071700340.html
3.http://archive.adl.org/israel/advocacy/glossary/lebanon_war_2006.html#.VVxD184-B-U
4.http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-and-lebanons-hezbollah-trade-fire-across-border-casualties-reported/2015/01/28/dd9a6b68-a6e0-11e4-a2b2-776095f393b2_story.html

Russia. The country that many of us label as a war-starting, conflict-causing, dictator-supporting troublemaker with hostilities towards the west. To put it simply, Russia is viewed as the antagonist of the world, a country whose primary goal is to disrupt American foreign policy. While Russia gains international recognition abroad, the country’s internal problems grow ever more severe; it is the country with one of the highest instances of alcohol-abuse, violence against women, and corruption. Much of these problems relate with the Russian Financial Crisis which started in 2014.

In order to understand the Russian financial crisis, we must first understand the causes of the crisis. The first cause is the nature of Russia’s oil-based economy. According to the US energy information association, nearly 68% of profits made from exports came from petroleum products. And the Russian Government receives nearly half of its revenues from state-owned enterprises such as Gazprom, one of the largest oil producing companies in the world. So when the price of oil is high, the Russian government receives revenue, and the Russian economy is stimulated. When oil prices are low, then one can guess that both the economy and the government will suffer—and they are. Since May of 2014, oil prices have dropped steadily from $100 a barrel—to less than $50 a barrel in February of 2015. Currently, oil trades at $60 a barrel. With this fall of oil, Gazprom—the mostly state-owned oil company—has reported that its profits decreased by nearly 86% in Q1 of 2015. Essentially, if oil prices go down, Russia is in deep financial trouble

But something else has also threatened Russia’s economy and oil industry: sanctions. Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, sanctions issued by the United States and European Union have crippled the Russian economy. The EU sanctions alone are predicted to slash Russia’s growth rate by 1.1 percentage points in 2015. The sanctions have hit not only the Russian oil exports but also the value of the Ruble. The appreciation of the U.S. dollar and euro against the ruble has caused the Ruble to plummet in value, nearly 10% in 2014. More Rubles are now needed in order to equal a US dollar or a Euro, which has led inflations rates to soar from 6% to 9% throughout the course of 2014. All of these causes have led the Russian economy to stagnate. The RTS index in Russia has declined nearly 25% since November of 2013, and the Russian economy has stagnated from a 2% growth rate at the end of 2013 to a -1.9% growth rate at the beginning of 2015.

But how do all of these statistics impact Russia in social aspects? Russia is riddled with massive social problems, many of which turn progressively worse as the financial crisis deepens. Russia has a life expectancy rate of 70 years, and it is ranked #152 in terms of life expectancy in the world according to the CIA World Fact book. To put this into perspective, Guatemala, a country that many of us associate as a developing country, is ranked #144 with an average life expectancy of 72 years. Apart from life expectancy, Russia has one of the worst rates of violence towards women. Amnesty International reports that 36,000 women are beaten every day by their partners, a statistic that grows larger as times become harder. Corruption also plagues Russia, and has gotten worse over the years. Transparency International ranks Russia as 127/157 countries on the corruptions perceptions index for 2013. Social inequality has worsened as well; Credit Suisse reported in October 2013 that the richest 110 people in Russia (A country of 143 million) own 35% of the wealth in the country. All in all, the Financial Crisis of 2014 has brought Russia to its knees in nearly every aspect.
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What do the Russian people have to say about this? Are they angry towards their leaders? Do the majority of Russians disapprove of Vladimir Putin’s job? On the contrary, Vladimir Putin has never been more popular, with his polls actually rising from 54% in 2013 to 83% in 2014 in a Gallup poll. Now why is that? Why is Putin defying popularity? Some analysts cite Putin’s annexation of Ukraine as a popular move among Russians. Some analysts suspect Putin of invaded Ukraine to gain not only popularity from abroad but from ordinary Russians as well. “He’s doing it to strengthen his position back home,” says Alexei Malashenko, a security expert at Moscow’s Carnegie Center. “It’s effective, it rallies the people around him, and it’s normal behavior.” Putin recognizes the dire problems in Russia, and he has invaded Ukraine partly to serve the Russian people a distraction. However, Putin’s continued efforts to bolster his popularity is destroying Russia little by little, and the Russian people will not stay distracted for long.


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