ABSTRACT
The Syrian ambition of dominating Lebanon derives from the mass of vital interests—security, military, and economic—which Syria has in that country. Syria's most vital interest in Lebanon, at least until Hafez al-Assad came to power, was its security interest. Since the Baath Party came to power and especially under the Assad regime, many Syrian leaders have laid emphasis on the special closeness between Lebanon and Syria, over and above the routine declarations about Arab unity. Thousands of families in Syria have branches in Lebanon, and thousands of families in Lebanon have branches in Syria. France received the mandate over Syria and Lebanon, and sought to strengthen the Lebanese entity, where it traditionally enjoyed the sympathy of the Maronite Christians, and to weaken Syria, where it met with opposition. The Syrian foreign minister, Abd al-Halim Khaddam, however, gave a more specific expression of the Syrian annexational intentions toward Lebanon.
