Lebanon

Video

Mapping Hezbollah's Worldwide Activities

Three current and former U.S. officials discuss a powerful new interactive tool and its implications for mobilizing international pressure on Hezbollah and its enablers.

Aug 5, 2020

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Matthew Levitt
Kash Patel
Juan Zarate

Policy Analysis on Lebanon

Brief Analysis

The Evolution of Iran’s Qods Force Since 1979

By absorbing rival organizations and favoring commanders who lack connections to other regime power centers, the IRGC has used the Qods Force to steadily centralize and monopolize control over the country’s foreign operations.

Jun 3, 2021

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Ali Alfoneh

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Kataib Hezbollah Leads Drone Warfare Inside Iraq

Militia Spotlight

The group is employing sophisticated drone capabilities against U.S. airbases in Iraq, mirroring tactics and systems used in Yemen.

May 14, 2021

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Michael Knights
Crispin Smith

Brief Analysis

Lines in the Sea: The Israel-Lebanon Maritime Border Dispute

Benefitting from offshore natural gas reserves should be a win-win situation, but in this case the players may turn it into a zero-sum game.

May 3, 2021

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Simon Henderson

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Profile: Sharia Youth Gathering

Militia Spotlight: Profiles

The Sharia Youth Gathering is an umbrella movement of social service, cultural, sports, and scouting organizations that is effectively controlled by Kataib Hezbollah through a cadre of linked commanders.

Apr 29, 2021

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Hamdi Malik
Crispin Smith
Michael Knights

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Profile: Imam Hussein Scout Association

Militia Spotlight: Profiles

The Imam Hussein Scout Association is Kataib Hezbollah’s youth organization and an affiliate of Lebanese Hezbollah's Kishaf al-Imam al-Mahdi youth movement.

Apr 29, 2021

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Hamdi Malik
Crispin Smith
Michael Knights

Frech president Emmanuel Macron inspects the site of the Beirut port explosion

Brief Analysis

French-German Proposals to Rebuild Beirut Port: Policy Implications

Whoever winds up spearheading the reconstruction effort, Washington should stay on top of them to ensure that international prerequisites for reform and monitoring are enforced—and to keep China from exploiting Lebanon’s struggles.

Apr 9, 2021

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David Schenker

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

How to Use Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Militia Spotlight: Profiles

The profiles are a repository of institutional memory on the various armed groups, facade groups, and social organizations associated with Iraqi militias, to be used as concise reminders of how these entities are connected.

Mar 28, 2021

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Michael Knights

Brief Analysis

To Push Past Hezbollah Stonewalling, Leverage the LAF

The political fallout from a recent speech by the Lebanese Armed Forces commander gives Washington and its partners a golden opportunity to prod the country from crisis management toward actual solutions.

Mar 18, 2021

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Hanin Ghaddar

Russian president Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov

Articles & Testimony

Is Russia Trying to Play Kingmaker in Lebanon?

To expand its strategic influence on the Mediterranean, Moscow is exploiting Beirut and Hezbollah’s crisis at a time when the West seems uncertain about how much to intervene.

Mar 16, 2021

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Anna Borshchevskaya

Assistant secretary of state David Schenker speaks at the Department of State in Washington, DC, alongside secretary of state Mike Pompeo

Video

Brief Analysis

Middle East Policy from Trump to Biden: Views from Inside the State Department’s Near East Bureau

The former assistant secretary of state in charge of the Middle East portfolio from 2019-2021 discusses his time in office and how the region’s challenges and opportunities are evolving at the start of the Biden administration.

March 10, 2021

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David Schenker
Robert Satloff

Brief Analysis

Lebanon's Predicament: Political Stagnation and Economic Collapse in a Hezbollah-Dominated State

Three Lebanese experts explore Beirut’s precarious politics, Hezbollah’s continued ability to evade accountability, and the Biden administration’s options.

Mar 5, 2021

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Makram Rabah
Ali al-Amin
Alia Mansour

Brief Analysis

Understanding Iran’s Vast Media Network in Arab Countries

Designating Iranian-linked media outlets can limit their activities, but a more holistic strategy is needed if Washington hopes to effectively counter the regime’s regional propaganda machine.

Mar 2, 2021

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Hamdi Malik

Articles & Testimony

The Other Khashoggis: Dissidents in Danger Across the Middle East

With militia targeting of activists on the rise, Western officials need to name the perpetrators, hold them accountable, and support homegrown democratic movements before they are snuffed out for good.

Feb 25, 2021

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Hanin Ghaddar
Michael Knights

Articles & Testimony

Hezbollah Is Vulnerable. Lokman Slim's Assassination Proves It.

The Biden administration and the French government must draw clear redlines, or the group will escalate its campaign of terror.

Feb 16, 2021

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Hanin Ghaddar

Map "Syria's Borders Are Under External Control"

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

The Assad Regime Has Failed to Restore Full Sovereignty Over Syria

By ceding control of its borders and airspace to various foreign actors, the regime has essentially resigned itself to a limited but potentially durable existence for the long term.

Feb 10, 2021

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Fabrice Balanche

Brief Analysis

How Might Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” Test Biden?

The new administration could face an Iranian military strike as early as inauguration day, along with multiple threats from the Assad regime, Hezbollah, and other actors down the road, all requiring clear demonstrations of U.S. resolve.

Jan 15, 2021

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Michael Eisenstadt
Christine McVann

Brief Analysis

Hezbollah Has Created Parallel Financial and Welfare Systems to Manage the Current Crisis

To contain corrupt actors and facilitate reform, the international community must provide alternatives to Hezbollah pharmaceutical and food programs while filling gaps that the group is unable to address.

Dec 9, 2020

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Hanin Ghaddar

Articles & Testimony

Russia’s Soft Power Projection in the Middle East

Moscow conducts far more soft-power activity in the region than one might suspect, using subversive and opaque versions of the same tools employed by the West.

Dec 4, 2020

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Anna Borshchevskaya

A man walks by a mural of international currencies

Articles & Testimony

Funding in Place: Local Financing Trends Behind Today’s Global Terrorist Threat

Two former U.S. Treasury officials provide an in-depth look at how geography, ideology, and a host of practical concerns shape the manner in which terrorists raise, store, and move their funds.

Nov 18, 2020

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Katherine Bauer
Matthew Levitt

In-Depth Reports

A Paris Reset on Hezbollah? Implications for French Interests and Regional Security

In this study, counterterrorism expert Matthew Levitt explores the history and current status of Hezbollah operations against French interests, and details how a change in Paris's longstanding opposition to designating the group could bolster French efforts to stabilize Lebanon.

Oct 20, 2020

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Matthew Levitt

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Featured experts

Matthew Levitt

Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Fellow and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.

Hanin Ghaddar

Hanin Ghaddar is the Friedmann Fellow at The Washington Institute's Geduld Program on Arab Politics, where she focuses on Shia politics throughout the Levant.

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