ATFL-MEI Webinar: Securing Lebanon to Prevent a Larger Hezbollah-Israel War and Wider Escalation

As tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalate, the prospect of Lebanon becoming a theater of regional war that will directly challenge US interests in the Middle East calls for a recalibration of US-Lebanon policy. Lebanon’s descent into a quasi-failed state following a financial collapse engineered by a governing elite under the influence of Iran reinforces the need for such a policy to, on the one hand, prioritize improved governance and accountability and, on the other respond more effectively to Iran’s destabilizing role within Lebanon and in the region. Here, a bi-partisan consensus on US engagement in Lebanon is instrumental to, not just preventing a Hezbollah-Israel war, but also ensuring the survivability and recovery of the Lebanese state.
In this context, our policy brief proposes a framework for robust diplomacy that will, first and foremost, steer Lebanon away from the precipice of war, then help establish a direct and sustainable path to stability and recovery.
To launch this brief, today’s panel will cover the key elements of this framework including the pressing need to secure Lebanon by stabilizing the Lebanon-Israel land border, addressing Lebanon’s leadership vacuum, as well as reviving its economy, and the need to adopt a multi-faceted strategy and policy towards Lebanon and the region.