Lebanon Fate Hangs in the Balance

A Lebanese woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her ballot at a polling station in Beirut's Christian sector of Ashrafieh, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2009. Lebanese streamed to their hometowns on the Mediterranean coast and high up in the mountains Sunday to vote in crucial elections that could unseat a pro-Western government and install one dominated by the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Voting under way in Lebanon:

(AP) - Lebanese streamed to their hometowns on the Mediterranean coast and high in the mountains Sunday to vote in a crucial election that could unseat a pro-Western government and install one dominated by Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

The race for the 128-member parliament will have repercussions beyond this tiny Arab country's borders. A win for the alliance headed by Shiite militant Hezbollah, which the United States considers a terrorist organization, could bring international isolation and possibly a new conflict with Israel. It could also set back U.S. Mideast policy and boost the influence of Hezbollah's backers, Syria and Iran.

"I voted for reform and change," said Laure Khoury, a 32-year-old school teacher, after voting in the district of Byblos north of Beirut for Hezbollah's Christian allies. "We tried the others for four years and we got nothing but promises and corruption. Enough is enough," she said.

Lebanon has long been a main front in what many see as a power struggle between two main camps in the Mideast—the U.S. and its moderate Arab allies Saudi Arabia and Egypt on one side, and Iran and Syria and militant groups such as Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas on the other.

The vote is the latest chapter in four tumultuous years that began with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 in a car bombing. The pro-Western factions swept into power in elections the same year on a sympathy vote. But the government has been virtually paralyzed since by a power struggle with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah's coalition includes the Shiite movement Amal and a major Christian faction led by former army chief Michel Aoun. Opposing it are the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim supporters of current majority leader Saad Hariri—Rafik Hariri's son—allied with several Christian and Druse factions.

Going into the election, the race for a majority appears too close to call. In the outgoing parliament, the pro-Western bloc had 70 seats and Hezbollah's alliance had 58.

Hezbollah's opponents say if the heavily armed group wins, it would drive Lebanon into the arms of Iran, which could use it as a front in the Islamic republic's confrontation with Israel. (Read entire article)

H/T Pat Dollard

Okay, since I am a devotee of Rule 5 Sunday, I did primarily post this for the gratuitous pic of the hot Lebanese girl!