Summary: Over the past year, events in the Middle East, including most notably the Arab Spring, have dramatically altered the security landscape facing the nation of Israel, as well as the national security interests of the United States in the region.  While each of these events have been well cataloged separately and in greater...
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This week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Lebanon to throngs of thousands upon thousands of cheering supporters who threw candies and rose petals at his passing motorcade. In a highly symbolic move, the Iranian leader went to Bint Jubail, just four miles north of the border with Israel, a southern Lebanese village that...
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By Sarah N. Stern and Kyle Shideler After Lebanon’s August 3rd cross-border sniper attack that killed Israel Defense Forces Colonel Dov Harari and injured a second officer, the U.S. Congress, led by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) ordered a hold placed on $100 million in military aid for the Lebanese...
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As I write these words, exactly ten years have passed since the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) withdrew from Southern Lebanon on May 24, 2000. It is a sad, although some might argue, bittersweet anniversary. Israel first entered Southern Lebanon in 1978 after a wide series of PLO attacks onto Israel’s northern border towns. The...
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By Sarah Stern & Kyle Shideler In the past two and a half weeks, the Obama administration has ramped up its efforts to engage with Syria’s Dictator Bashar Assad, announcing its intentions to appoint an ambassador to Syria 5 years after the Bush Administration severed ties in the aftermath of the Rafik Hariri assassination,...
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In the Middle East, bellicose threats and saber-rattling are a fact of life. Recent developments, however, are suggestive of a coming storm, even by the turbulent standards of the region. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, who resides in Damascus, warned that the next conflict with Israel would include not just the Gaza Strip, but the...
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In the summer of 2006, Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group Hizballah fought a war. Hizballah shot rockets into northern Israel, and Israel re-occupied parts of South Lebanon and bombed areas of Beirut to try to get the Lebanese goverment to reign in Hizballah. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 stopped the fighting. Among...
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Good news from over the weekend, Time’s Online reports Hezbollah loses its bid to take over Lebanon through elections: A Western-backed coalition appeared to have retained its parliamentary majority in the face of a strong challenge by the Hezbollah-led opposition, according to preliminary results early this morning in Lebanon’s closely fought election. Fireworks exploded...
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Journalist and frequent Embed Michael Totten writes for Commentary on Hezbollah and the upcoming June elections (h/t Belmont Club): If Hezbollah does eke out a victory, Hassan Nasrallah will find himself in an interesting position. He’ll have more power than ever, but he’ll also have much more to lose. Many supporters of the Hezbollah-led...
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From Michael Young of Lebanon’s Daily Star (h/t daily alert): Nevertheless, there are three reasons (other than Mr Assad’s backing) why engaging Islamists, particularly armed Islamists, should be viewed with caution, their words of reassurance and those of their western apologists notwithstanding. Conflicts Forum offers a clue to the first reason: its website tells...
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