Beirut 2005: The Cedar Revolution That Toppled a Syrian Legacy

In February 2005, the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on the Beirut seafront shattered Lebanon's uneasy peace. This episode of The Story of Lebanon traces the seismic weeks that followed: the mass protests known as the Cedar Revolution, the Syrian military withdrawal after 29 years of occupation, and the bitter political struggle that redefined sectarian alliances. We explore the role of Hariri's murder in exposing Syrian intelligence operations, the 155 Hariri investigation, the March 14 and March 8 alliances, and the pivotal figure of Hezbollah as both resistance and state within a state. Against a backdrop of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, the episode unpacks how a popular uprising briefly united a fractured country—only for old fault lines to re-emerge. With witness accounts from Martyrs' Square, the Pine Forest, and the demolished St. George Hotel, we ask whether the revolution truly delivered or planted seeds for future crises. Featuring names like Rafik Hariri, Émile Lahoud, Jibril Tufeni, and Samir Geagea, this is a raw look at Lebanon's struggle for sovereignty.

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