On April 13, 1975, Lebanon was plunged into a civil war that destroyed the "Switzerland of the Middle East" forever.  I lost my only brother and sibling in that war. And since 25% of Arab Americans are Lebanese, I write this article in memory of the victims of that war.  We can also derive important lessons for America today from the civil strife that devastated my native country. Battle damage in Beirut from the long civil war was extensive (YouTube screen grab). First, a bit of history. In 1920, after World War I, Greater Lebanon was declared a state and placed under the French Mandate in 1923. Because the state had a Christian majority, the French mandated a Christian president and commander in chief, unlike any other country in the region. In 1943, after independence from France, the major confessional communities (Christian, Sunni, Shiite) forged an unwritten National Pact.  The president would always be...(Read Full Post)