On Tuesday, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a panel entitled, “Lebanon and the Arab Spring: A Congressional View of Lebanon’s Roles Amidst Historic Change in the Region.” USIP President Richard Solomon gave introductory remarks.  Mona Yacoubian, Senior Program Officer for the Middle East and Director of the Lebanon Working Group, moderated the panel.  Congressman Charles Boustany (R-LA), the son of Lebanese immigrants, offered his perspective on how ...

Writing in the New York Times, Roger Cohen stated "Osama Bin Laden is dead -- and so is an old Middle East" and noted that the recent events in the Middle East demonstrate how the al-Qaeda leader had lost touch with Arab youth who have "move irrelevant....Facebook and Twitter turned out to be far more effective agents of change than any 'martyrdom' attack on apostates, crusaders and Zionists – the ...

The Bahraini government officially accused Hezbollah of helping train anti-government opposition in an official report sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The report claims that the group has been training opposition figures at camps in both Lebanon and Iran and also accuses them of targeting other Gulf nations as well.  Bahrain also claims that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah of meeting with senior leaders of Bahrain's largest Shi'ite opposition group ...

Writing at Foreign Policy, Parag Khanna notes the new age of Pan-Arabism that is characterized by societies demanding good governance and an inclusive political process.  He states that the anti-authoritarian revolutions are "truly borderless"  following Al Jazeera's shaming of Arab autocrats -- with the exception of Bahrain -- and young activists training together across the region.  Khanna also highlights the Arab League's backing of a no-fly zone in Libya and considerations ...

Last week, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy hosted an event entitled, "Lebanon Today: Internal Politics and the Arab Spring."  Speaking at the event were May Chidiac, president of MCF Media Institute; Michael Young, opinion editor for the Beirut Daily Star; Hisham Melhem, Washington bureau chief of Al-Arabiya; and Michael Doran,  visiting professor at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service. May Chidiac noted how protests in the ...

Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, has said he is optimistic that Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati's new cabinet will be officially formed  shortly after the Easter holiday.  The speaker said that most of the "thorny issues" has been resolved and that negotiations were focusing on "final touches."  The formation of a new government has been in a three month long deadlock with political infighting over specific cabinet portfolios and ...

Al Hayat editor Ghassan Charbel wrote an op-ed on Wednesday, lamenting that in spite of its own history of liberal freedoms, Lebanon has been inactive in the Arab Spring. He writes, “How Lebanon seems to be a failure today in the face of the Arab revolutions, the dreams of change, others heading toward the future or the search for it…” He points to a recent meeting between Maronite leaders as ...

Courtesy of Al Jazeera After a violent crackdown on Sunday protests left up to 17 dead in Homs, thousands poured into the streets on Monday in funeral rallies to mourn the victims.  More videos of Monday's protests can be viewed at The New York Times blog The Lede.  Meanwhile, Hezbollah expressed its support for embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday.  Hezbollah MP Nawwaf Moussawi said that stability in Syria is essential for ...

On Monday, the Bahraini security forces released 86 detainees following legal procedures taken according to royal decree 18 regarding the State of National Safety.  However, the government also expelled more than 15 Lebanese people living in Bahrain following a speech by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in which he expressed support for the Bahraini opposition's demands.  Authorities also stripped more than a dozen Lebanese of their work and residency protests ...

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held an open nomination hearing to confirm the appointments of Mara E. Rudman, to be Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development for the Middle East, and Robert Patterson, to be Ambassador to Turkmenistan. Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA) presided over the nomination hearing. For full notes, continue below or click here. Senator Casey began the hearing by highlighting the fact that ...

As part of a Jadaliyya Roundtable, editors of the blog asked analysts Steven Heydemann, Fred Lawson, David Lesch and Patrick Seale to respond to a series of questions on the current situation in Syria.  In part two of the roundtable, contributors were asked to respond to the following question:  "What do you consider to be missing or exaggerated in the discussion/writings/policy on the Syrian uprisings?" In response, Heydemann states that the current debate in Washington ...

As part of a Jadaliyya Roundtable, editors of the blog asked analysts Steven Heydemann, Fred Lawson, David Lesch and Patrick Seale to respond to a series of questions on the current situation in Syria. Addressing the first question on what factors are pivotal in determining the course of events in Syria and if they believe the opposition movement will be successful, Heydemann responded by discussing the obstacles facing the opposition ...

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On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on the implications of uprisings in the Middle East has on U.S. policy. The Committee—chaired by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) – with ranking member Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) in attendance –requested the testimony of William J. Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs. To read full notes, continue below or click here for pdf. Senator John Kerry opened by stating that the ...

On Thursday the Brookings Institute hosted an event focused on the recent trip of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) to the Middle East entitled: “Revolution in the Middle East: A Trip Report by Senator John McCain and Senator Joseph Lieberman.” The event was opened by Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institute and moderated by Robert Kagan, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute. For full notes, ...

On Tuesday, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held an open hearing to assess U.S. foreign policy priorities in light of the country’s current economic challenges.  The Committee — chaired by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and with Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA) in attendance — requested the testimony of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.To see full notes, continue below or click here for pdf.  To see webcast, click here.Rep. Ros-Lehtinen opened ...

Democrats named Susan Davis (CA) and Gwen Moore (WI) to the House Democracy Partnership (HDP), a bipartisan commission of the U.S. House of Representatives that works directly with 14 partner countries, including Lebanon, "to support the development of effective, independent, and responsive legislative institutions."  Other members of the commission include: David Drier (R-CA), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Judy Biggert (R-IL), Charles Boustany Jr. (R-LA), Michael Conaway (R-TX), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Ander ...

On Sunday, hundreds of people rallied in Beirut to protest the country's complicated power-sharing confessional system which divides political power amongst the country's 18 different religious sects.  The protesters called for a civil-secular state that guarantees religious diversity and social justice.  Many, including some of the protesters at the rally, blame the current political system as the root cause of corruption and violence in Lebanon.  One counter demonstrator however questioned the abandonment ...