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  • 2022 Newsleter

    Dear Friends,

    As we approach the winter holiday season, we are taking some time to reflect on all that has transpired in Lebanon. There have been many positive developments, but overall the situation of the Lebanese people has continued to worsen. Despite these challenges, at ATFL we still have faith in our ability to make a difference. We know that our strength comes from our growing friendships, partnerships, collaborations, and extended family around the world.

    ATFL will soon publish a policy paper aiming to guide the Biden Administration and the US government on its foreign policy toward Lebanon. This paper will be the latest product of policy recommendations from a diverse coalition of over thirty experts: writers, analysts, and scholars of Lebanon from across the news media, think thank, and policy spheres. This coalition is a reflection of the DC policy community’s shared and deep concern for Lebanon and its people at this time of acute crisis. Together, we are working to ensure that the US will respond to the great need of the Lebanese people and help build a foundation for a better future.

    A fundamental element of ATFL’s ability to contribute to these important, collaborative, and policy-forward initiatives is our regular trips to Lebanon. ATFL visited Lebanon in July, following the Parliamentary elections in May. We met with recently elected members of Parliament, the cabinet, religious leaders, and other important stakeholders in the US-Lebanon relationship. And just recently, at the end of October, ATFL sponsored a delegation of Congressional staff members. Our trip highlighted the importance of Congress’s engagement and impact on current issues facing Lebanon.

    ATFL has also been willing to communicate hard messages to those in Lebanon with the power of influence. We have also built our impact by reporting our observations to key decision-makers in Washington. Over the last year, we continued to meet and debrief key US officials in the Administration and Congress. We also facilitated community engagement with key decision-makers, allowing them to hear directly from the diaspora. We encourage you to watch our recent webinars featuring USAID Administrator Samantha Power following her official trip to Lebanon this month. Prior to that, ATFL also hosted a webinar with the lead negotiators of the recent Israel-Lebanon maritime boundary agreement, US Special Presidential Advisor Amos Hochstein and Lebanese Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab.

    Next month we will conduct an off-site strategic planning session to look at the year ahead and the challenge of addressing Lebanon’s dire situation in light of an ever deteriorating circumstance. That plan will be presented to the board and advisers in early 2023 for their review and input.

    As always, we are extremely grateful for your support and attention to our mission. So long as ATFL is able to rally its partners and friends, our work can make a difference. Together, we will continue to pursue a strong US-Lebanon relationship that enables meaningful change for the Lebanese people.

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    We wish you, your friends, and your families a blessed holiday season.

    – Team ATFL

  • ATFL Applauds Senate Foreign Relations Committee Leadership Calling For Sanctions Against Lebanese Financial And Political Elites

    Washington, DC, December 16, 2022. The American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), a leadership organization of Americans of Lebanese descent, applauds US Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for calling for accountability of Lebanese elite undermining democracy and the rule of Law.

    Today, the bipartisan leaders sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen “calling for US sanctions against Lebanon’s financial and political elite responsible for the country’s recent political deadlock and failure to implement critical economic reforms.”

    The Senators called out Hezbollah and Lebanon’s political class for failing to respond to the needs of the Lebanese people. They also added that Lebanon needs an effective government free from malign foreign influence.

    “Congress, on a bipartisan basis, is continuing to express its disappointment in the ‘business as usual’ approach from Lebanon’s political and economic elite,” said ATFL President Ed Gabriel. “Today they are sending a straightforward message to Lebanon’s leaders: make progress or face sanctions,” he added.

  • ATFL Applauds Congress For Increasing United States Engagement on the Humanitarian Situation and Food Security in Lebanon

    Washington, DC, December 7, 2022. The American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), a leadership organization of Americans of Lebanese descent, applauds the US Congress for addressing the humanitarian situation and food security in Lebanon.

    The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the defense policy bill for the forthcoming year, includes an amendment, sponsored by Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Darin LaHood (R-IL), mandating a report from the Secretaries of State and Defense as well as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to key committees in Congress on the humanitarian situation and food security in Lebanon.

    The report will include an analysis of the projected increase in malnutrition, an estimate on the increase of food insecure individuals in Lebanon, an estimate on the number of people who will be faced with acute malnutrition as a result of food price inflation, and an overview of what the US is doing to address these challenges.

    “We want to thank Congress, especially Representatives Dingell and LaHood, for their continued support of the Lebanese people during this historic humanitarian crisis,” said ATFL President Edward Gabriel. “This report is a necessary step in addressing the crisis and ATFL will continue to work with bipartisan Members of Congress and the Biden Administration to continue increasing US support for the Lebanese people,” he added.

  • US-Lebanon Relations: Setting a New International Framework for a More Responsive Government

    Lebanon is on a tragic trajectory, never before seen in its history. The next few months, with or without needed reforms, will shape its path for years to come. Lebanon’s failings can be attributed to endemic corruption by the political class and the “state within a state” impunity of Hezbollah. Lebanon’s leaders must take the necessary risks to reverse their country from falling into the abyss of an economic and political meltdown, but they will not be able to undertake this challenge alone.

    The US must lead its friends in Europe and the Gulf to encourage political parties and leaders, who have previously failed to respond effectively to their people, to create a new framework for Lebanon to begin its recovery. The time is now ripe to build on the US-mediated maritime agreement by encouraging Lebanon to take steps on other achievable objectives that continue the momentum forward. The Lebanon Working Group proposes seven policy areas on which the US should focus its work with Lebanon.

    2022 12 Setting a New International Framework for a More Responsive GovernmentDownload

  • Special Debrief with USAID Administrator Samantha Power

    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.

  • ATFL-MEI Discussion with the Negotiators of the Historic Lebanon-Israel Maritime Agreement

    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.

  • ATFL Applauds Lebanon-Israel Maritime Accord

    Washington, DC, October 11, 2022 (ATFL) – The American Task Force on Lebanon welcomes the agreement between Lebanon and Israel on a maritime border that demarcates the exclusive economic zones between the two countries. Mediated through the intense efforts of US Special Envoy for Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein and Lebanese Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, the agreement is the culmination of efforts that have been in play since 2003 under then-Special Adviser Frederick Hof and revived under the Biden Administration two years ago.

    The agreement is more than a boundary, it is the beginning of economic possibilities for Lebanon to join other Eastern Mediterranean countries in exploiting energy resources that will satisfy both domestic and international market needs. With the increasing reliance on natural gas in the global effort to reduce the carbon footprint of energy usage, any commercially viable discoveries will have a welcome and profitable impact.

    More importantly, it gives added stability and security to the region by reducing provocations between Israel and Lebanon, providing a basis to settle the land boundary, and encouraging international investors to bring fresh funds into projects in Lebanon, increasing the economic health of the country. 

    ATFL thanks the US government for its continued efforts to bring about this agreement and the negotiators, Amos Hochstein and Elias Bou Saab, for their efforts to address and resolve this challenging effort.

    “This agreement brings hope to the Lebanese people who have suffered through many months of economic despair and social upheaval; and it reminds the global community of the support still needed by those people to recover and survive through what the World Bank has said is the worst economic disaster since the mid-19th century,” said ATFL President Ed Gabriel. 

    An October 10th letter from Reps. Darin LaHood, Darrell Issa, and Debbie Dingell, Co-Chairs of the US-Lebanon Friendship Caucus, can be accessed here.

    For additional information contact steven.howard@atfl.org

    or WhatsApp +1 202.603.5789

  • ATFL and Congressional Leaders Applaud Lebanon-Israel Maritime Accord

  • ATFL Encourages Lebanon and Israel to Finalize Maritime Boundary Agreement As Soon As Possible

    Washington, DC, October 4, 2022 (ATFL) – The American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), a leadership organization of  Americans of Lebanese descent,  endorses and encourages the finalization of a maritime border agreement between Lebanon and Israel. According to reports, this agreement greatly supports the interests of the Lebanese people and represents a long term sustainable solution for both countries. Successful conclusion of these negotiations will have security benefits for the region, increase stability for Lebanon, and prosperity for its people. 

    First of all, it is a significant confidence-building measure that would reduce tensions between Lebanon and Israel and would seed the ground for future discussions to address security issues. Secondly, given the world’s concerns with identifying additional sources of energy, an agreement will enable the parties to actively explore and exploit the potential sources in the areas being mediated, thus contributing to economic stability in Lebanon, Europe, and the Mediterranean region. 

    As importantly, it is a positive and hopeful sign for the Lebanese people that their current economic crisis may begin to ease with opening the area to active international investment.  

    ATFL applauds the work of Amos Hochstein, US Senior Advisor on Energy Security, for his ongoing commitment and efforts to bring the parties closer together. The US government has shown an exceptional commitment to bringing about a successful negotiation. Without such support, it is likely that the disputed maritime fields would not be settled for another generation or more, thus precluding Lebanon from any oil and gas exploration for years to come. 

    Edward Gabriel, president of ATFL, stressed that the time for a positive conclusion to the negotiations is now. “Concluding a fair, just and successful deal is incumbent on both parties. With increasing global instability and demands on the US government in other regions of the world, the Lebanese government must understand that this two-years plus process must come to fruition quickly before this opportunity is lost.”

  • The Sad Fall of Lebanon, a Country That Produces Huge Talents

    ATFL highlighted in article by White House Chronicle

    Read Full Article Here