stephen  d. leece

This is a rare thing- an eye-opener that is scholarly, stylish and a useful companion piece to conventional histories of Lebanon (if not the wider world).

In essence, when not thriving on tourism, and until Dubai took over, international financial markets, Lebanon survives on the international drug trade, specifically Hashish and Heroin, with cocaine latterly making an appearance. That is of course assuming that the three never went hand-in-hand to begin with.

This is not an Eastern version of Mr. Nice and anyone expecting that should best leave well alone. It is about how multiple countries from the late 1940s onwards turned a blind-eye to the thriving drugs trade emanating from Lebanon because it suited their purposes, and how that same trade financed the militias in the Civil War.

Marshall marshals his sources well and proves his case beyond any reasonable doubt.

This is an expose of Lebanon’s guilty secret, that everyone in international intelligence and drugs law enforcement knows about but are unwilling to talk and write about.

Highly recommended- especially in relation with what is going on in the poppy fields of Afghanistan and other US-UK foreign policy initiatives.

In short, this is the Occult History of Lebanon.