ABSTRACT
The history of Lebanon in the twenty-year period is one of internal breakdown closely interwoven with the impact of external forces. The sectarian cooperation that had characterized Lebanon since independence collapsed in a wave of communal violence, and the state that had been the Arab world's symbol of tolerance and compromise was plunged into a bloody civil war that lasted fifteen years. Syria and Israel both attempted to shape the outcome of the civil war to their advantage through armed intervention that prolonged the conflict and increased the suffering. Anwar Sadat was not the expected choice to fill the considerable void left by Nasser's death in 1970. Sadat's journey to Jerusalem marked the beginning of a new phase of ponderous and sometimes acrimonious peacemaking between Egypt and Israel, with the United States acting as a third party. The treaty with Israel, the new relationship with the United States, and domestic economic needs determined the main orientation of Mubarak's foreign policy.
