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Lebanon
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What Is Hezbollah?Military experience gained from fighting in Syria’s civil war and decades of clashes with Israel have strengthened the Iran-backed group, but politically, its clout among Lebanon’s populace may be waning.
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What Escalating Hezbollah-Israel Tensions and the War in Gaza Mean for LebanonAlready hobbled by economic struggles, Lebanon now faces the prospect of war as the militant group and political party Hezbollah clashes with Israel in apparent support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
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Iran’s Regional Armed NetworkIran’s web of armed partners such as Hezbollah and the Houthis serves to strengthen its influence in the Middle East and could pose a significant threat to the United States and U.S. allies in the region, especially Israel.
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Israel-Hamas War: Regional Escalation and U.S. StrategyPanelists discuss the regional escalation of the Israel-Hamas war, developments in flashpoints including in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, attacks on U.S. forces and the consequences for U.S. strategy in the Middle East.
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A Conversation With Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah BouHabibLebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah BouHabib discusses developments in the Middle East, increasing tensions with Israel, and Lebanon’s perspective on the conflict and ongoing efforts to deescalate tensions.
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How Hezbollah Sees the War in GazaA much-anticipated speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on November 3 largely echoed Iran’s pronouncements of support for Hamas and its threats of intervention in the group’s war against Israel.
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Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and MilitiasIn Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias, CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow Stephen Biddle explains how nonstate military strategies overturn traditional perspectives on warfare.
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Iraq’s New President, China’s Party Congress, Israel-Lebanon Maritime Agreement, and MoreThe Iraqi parliament meets to choose a new president; Xi Jinping is expected to consolidate power at the Twentieth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party; and Israel and Lebanon prepare to finalize a historic agreement on a disputed maritime border.
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A Conversation With Foreign Minister Abdallah BouHabib of LebanonForeign Minister Abdallah BouHabib discusses the relationship between Lebanon and the West, especially in light of Russia’s war in Ukraine, global humanitarian issues including refugees and food insecurity, and the future of Lebanon’s economy.
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What Lebanon’s Election Results Mean for Ending Its CrisisHezbollah and its allies suffered serious losses in May’s parliamentary elections, and a divided Parliament will likely struggle to agree on a path out of Lebanon’s current crisis.
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Finland and Sweden Talk NATO, Biden Hosts ASEAN Leaders, and MoreFinland and Sweden intensify the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership process, U.S. President Joe Biden hosts Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders for a special summit in Washington, DC, and Lebanon holds parliamentary elections.
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CFR Term Member Spotlight Series: Hagar Hajjar ChemaliOur new series spotlights individuals within the Stephen M. Kellen Term Member Program. Drawing on the enormous amount of talent and expertise within the Council’s Term Member Program, this series features a term member in conversation with a fellow term member discussing their career path, how they got to where they are, the challenges they have faced along the way, and the current work they are doing. We hope this regular series will provide an opportunity for Council term members to better engage and learn from one another, draw upon shared experiences within the group, and connect across geographies. Our second installment in this series features fifth-year term member Hagar Chemali, CEO and founder of Greenwich Media Strategies, in conversation with second-year term member Brit McCandless Farmer, digital producer at 60 Minutes. For those of you who do not know her yet, Hagar's impressive career includes serving twelve years in the U.S. government as director for Syria and Lebanon at the National Security Council, spokesperson for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and director of communications and spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Following her time in government, Hagar has gone on to found a communications strategy firm and to be a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Economic Sanctions Initiative. She also hosts, writes, and produces a weekly world news show on YouTube called Oh My World! that covers the top news stories in a fun, accessible, and humorous way.
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Nonstate Warfare
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Stephen Biddle explains how nonstate military strategies overturn traditional perspectives on warfare. -
The Hard Edge of the Pope’s Moral PowerThe pontiff’s Middle Eastern diplomacy may seem superficial, but it could make a huge practical impact.
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Is Lebanon a Failed State? Here’s What the Numbers Say.The August explosions in Beirut were the latest in a series of man-made disasters that have led some experts to say Lebanon is becoming a failed state.
