Lebanon, oh Lebanon Where Art Thou?

Depending upon where you start history one's perspective on the Middle East can change dramatically. Was it the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers or the attack on a US barracks in Beiruit or the Suez Crisis or the Paris Treaty of 1919 which most shapes to-day's reality? Is Canadian foreign policy now aligning with US policy? Stephen Harper believes Israel's response to the Hezbollah kidnappings was a measured response. Here is a good quote from Jim Travers, The Hill Times, Aug 14th, 2006;
"It's often said that war is God's way of teaching Americans geography. It's now as apt to say that foreign affairs are Allah's way of teaching new Canadian prime ministers history." National Geographic has found half of young Americans can not locate the Big Apple on a map and only 37% know where Iraq is despite all the publicity surrounding the war.