The citizens of the tiny (Connecticut-size) Republic of Lebanon saw their first President, old Sheikh Beshara Khalil el Khoury, as a sort of fat and friendly George Washington, nicknamed him "Abu Kirsh" (Father of Belly). He helped to push first the Turks, later the French out of his land, ruled a nation split almost exactly between Christians and Moslems with such a talent for compromise that both sides were happy. Lebanon became one of the most stable and progressive countries in the Middle East. But the "Father of Belly" had one weakness that is fatal to both girls and politicians:...
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