3,134
males fit for military service: 457,067
males reach military age (18) annually: 16,180 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 176 million rubles, 3% to 5% of GDP (1994);
note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
prevailing exchange rate could produce misleading results

======================================================================

@Lebanon
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Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political
institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since the end of
the devastating 16-year civil war which began in 1975. Under the
Ta'if accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the
Lebanese have established a more equitable political system,
particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political
process. Since December 1990, the Lebanese have formed four cabinets
and conducted the first legislative election in 20 years. Most of
the militias have been weakened or disbanded. The Lebanese Armed
Forces (LAF) has seized vast quantities of weapons used by the
militias during the war and extended central government authority
over about one-half of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a
party, retains most of its weapons. Foreign forces still occupy
areas of Lebanon. Israel maintains troops in southern Lebanon and
continues to support a proxy militia, The Army of South Lebanon
(ASL), along a narrow stretch of territory contiguous to its border.
The ASL's enclave encompasses this self-declared security zone and
about 20 kilometers north to the strategic town of Jazzin. Syria
maintains about 30,000 troops in Lebanon. These troops are based
mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's
deployment was legitimized by the Arab League early in Lebanon's
civil war and in the Ta'if accord. Citing the continued weakness of
the LAF, Beirut's requests, and failure of the Lebanese Government
to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if accord,
Damascus has so far refused to withdraw its troops from Beirut.

Map
---

Location: 33 50 N, 35 50 E -- Middle East, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria

Flag
----

Description: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double
width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the
white band

Geography
---------

Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
Israel and Syria

Geographic c