Category: Webinar

One-on-One Interview with Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati

October 2, 2024 – 10:00am ET

Lebanon now finds itself in the middle of a crisis. Over one million Lebanese find themselves internally displaced and over one thousand people have been killed. The need for a ceasefire is clear for humanitarian reasons alone. Furthermore, a ceasefire would provide the opportunity to strengthen Lebanon’s state capacity by electing a president and increasing deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces throughout the country.

These issues and others will be featured in a fireside chat between Ambassador (ret.) Edward Gabriel, President of the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), and Najib Mikati, Caretaker Prime Minister of Lebanon.

The fireside chat will be followed by a policy discussion featuring commentary from Paul Salem of the Middle East Institute, Maha Yahya of the Malcom H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, and Ambassador Gabriel of ATFL.

July 8, 2024 – 12:00pm ET

As tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalate, the specter of full-scale war with the potential to draw in the United States and Iran demands the United States’ immediate attention. At the same time that the US actively tries to avoid Lebanon becoming a theater of regional war, a durable solution to the crisis will need to address Iran’s entrenched influence and destabilizing role within Lebanon and in the region, as well as Lebanon’s governance vacuum. Lebanon’s descent into a quasi-failed state following a financial collapse engineered by its governing elites has indeed reinforced the need to prioritize improved governance and accountability. Accordingly, a determined approach to dissuading parties from provocation together with a more comprehensive roadmap for lasting stability is essential to warding off a potentially catastrophic Hezbollah-Israel war and ensuring the survivability and recovery of the Lebanese state. Prioritizing diplomacy to avert a full-scale war offers an opportunity for the US and friends of Lebanon to confront these pressing issues, including the country’s erosion of sovereignty, its corrupt system of governance, and the collapse of its formal economy.

The latest policy brief written by a group of experts from the Middle East Institute (MEI) and the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL) proposes a framework for robust diplomacy designed, first and foremost, to steer Lebanon away from the precipice of war, and then help establish a direct and sustainable path to stability and recovery.

To launch this important policy document, MEI and ATFL co-hosted a panel of experts who discussed the key elements of the brief’s framework, including the pressing need to secure Lebanon by stabilizing the Lebanese-Israeli land border, addressing Lebanon’s leadership vacuum, as well as reviving its economy. Additionally, the assembled panelists outlined what an optimal multi-faceted US strategy and policy toward Lebanon and the region should look like.

January 19, 2023 – ATFL and MEI co-hosted a virtual panel discussion on the latest joint policy brief of the Lebanon Working Group: “US-Lebanon Relations: Setting a New International Framework for a More Responsive Government.”

Released last December by the Middle East Institute (MEI) and the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), with 20 co-authors, the paper makes several recommendations and identifies important areas of action for US policymakers at this crucial juncture in Lebanon’s history. The paper addresses numerous challenges facing Lebanon, including the presidential vacancy, the lack of a formed government, the need for preliminary reforms prior to an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the current crises in the energy and education sectors, the humanitarian plight of the Lebanese people, corruption, and the need for supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces.

November 16, 2022 – ATFL hosted a special debrief with USAID Administrator Samantha Power. Administrator Power discussed her recent visit to Lebanon, where she focused on food security and higher education, among other issues, in a conversation with ATFL and members of the Lebanese-American community.

October 18, 2022 – ATFL and MEI hosted a special conversation with US Special Envoy for Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein and Lebanese Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab to discuss what made it possible for Israel and Lebanon to reach an agreement, mediated by the United States, on a mutually recognized maritime boundary; how it benefits all involved parties; and what lies ahead. The agreement is the culmination of efforts that have been in play since 2003 and which were revived under the Biden Administration two years ago.

In anticipation of the 2022 Lebanese Parliamentary Elections, the American Task Force on Lebanon hosted a webinar on May 5th, 2022 in collaboration with the Middle East Institute (MEI), with the intention of encouraging registered voters in North America to vote. The purpose of the webinar was to encourage the diaspora to turn out to vote and to hear from the Lebanese government on what it has been doing to reassure them that their vote will be properly counted and protected.

In this webinar, Amb. Ed Gabriel, President of ATFL, moderated a conversation with the Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, H.E. Abdallah Bou Habib. This was then followed by a separate discussion which included Dr. Patricia Karam, MENA Regional Division Director at the International Republican Institute (IRI), and Dr. Paul Salem, President of MEI.

The panel discussion was moderated by ATFL Vice President Jean AbiNader. ATFL is committed to promoting voting in North America that is secure, transparent, and conducted fairly, with assurances that the ballots will be secure until they are counted after the May 15th election.

February 1st, 2022 – Lebanon is at a crucial crossroads. The people are suffering, starving, and distrustful that the government will come to their assistance. The economy, like the Port of Beirut, is in ruins due to mismanagement and in need of reconstruction. Stability and democracy are at stake this year as elections are to be held on May 15, 2022, and most of the candidates are those who are responsible for the current disasters in the country.

How will the international community, led by the US and France provide sufficient support so that free and fair elections are held on time? Will Hezbollah continue to interfere in the Port of Beirut investigation? Will the government of PM Najib Mikati find itself unable to implement any of the reforms required for assistance facilitated by an International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement?

Held on February 1st, 2022, the Middle East Institute (MEI) and the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL) presented the official release of their latest collaborative policy brief, “Helping the Lebanese People Move Towards Recovery: Recommendations for US Policy,” at a webinar featuring remarks from a number of the more than two dozen co-authors of this report.

On January 19th, 2022, ATFL and MEI co-hosted a virtual panel discussion on the latest joint policy brief of the Lebanon Working Group: “US-Lebanon Relations: Setting a New International Framework for a More Responsive Government.”

Released last December by the Middle East Institute (MEI) and the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), with 20 co-authors, the paper makes several recommendations and identifies important areas of action for US policymakers at this crucial juncture in Lebanon’s history. The paper addresses numerous challenges facing Lebanon, including the presidential vacancy, the lack of a formed government, the need for preliminary reforms prior to an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the current crises in the energy and education sectors, the humanitarian plight of the Lebanese people, corruption, and the need for supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces.

ATFL webinar discussion of the results of a new Lebanese poll conducted in September by Zogby Research Services. The poll was sponsored by ATFL in collaboration with the Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies and Zogby Research Services.

The poll surveyed 869 Lebanese adults to solicit their attitudes on Lebanon’s economic crises, confidence in government institutions, Lebanon’s relations with other countries, the upcoming 2022 elections, and the political system at large. The respondents represent all sects and geographic regions of the country.

Speakers include ATFL President Amb. Edward Gabriel, Dr. James Zogby, Mona Yacoubian, Dr. Paul Salem, and Dr. Akram Khater moderated by ATFL’s Jean AbiNader. Poll responses illustrate the perceptions and concerns of the Lebanese people living under stressful conditions of shortages of essential goods and services, massive inflation, growing insecurity, and rising sectarian tensions.

The poll results reveal some surprising new sentiments and serve as an informative tool for policymakers, NGOs, and the international community.

This event was held on November 9th, 2021.

The American Task Force on Lebanon held a virtual webinar on Thursday, August 5 to mark the one-year anniversary of the August 4 Beirut Port explosions.

The presentations focused on four themes:

• The status of US-Lebanon relations and US assistance to Lebanon, noting challenges to building relations with a potential new government

• Assessing the role of the United Nations and the international community in promoting reforms

• An update on the rapidly declining socio-economic conditions on Lebanese society including the brain drain, health, and education services

• Lebanon’s instability and the interests of external actors such as Syria, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Russia.