Lebanon after the Summer 2006 War: Student Research with Discussion
November 5, 2007, 7:00PM-8:30PM
Fares Center Conference Room
Moderator: Abdul-Rahim Abu-Husayn, Professor of History, American University of Beirut; Visiting Scholar, The Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies
Speakers: Nancy Henry, Tim Fitzsimons, and Nicki Sobecki, New Initiative for Middle East Peace (NIMEP), Tufts University

Summary

In March 2007, a group of undergraduate students from Tufts University traveled to Lebanon through an opportunity sponsored by the New Initiative for Middle East Peace (NIMEP), a student research and outreach program coordinated by the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University. Several of the student participants presented their research at the Fares Center in a discussion moderated by Abdul-Rahim Abu-Husayn, Professor of History at the American University of Beirut and Fall 2007 Visiting Scholar at the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies.

Tim Fitzsimons (Tufts University '10) and Nichole Sobecki (Tufts University '08) showed an impressive multimedia presentation comprised of original photography and audio of personal interviews that the student group conducted with academics, civil society leaders, journalists, and prominent local figures such as Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Druze leader and MP Walid Jumblatt, Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan, and senior Shia cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.

Nancy Henry (Tufts University '09) presented her research on the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), which she portrayed as a mediator among factions within Lebanon rather than as a capable defender of Lebanon's borders. She suggested that the mission statement of the LAF is thinly veiled, allowing for its support of Hezbollah during the Lebanon War in 2006, as well as continued intelligence sharing and resistance to the group's disarmament. In the short term, dismantling Hezbollah would upset Lebanon's internal security situation and run counter to the goals of the LAF. But Henry also concluded that better technology and increased support from the Lebanese government would enable the LAF to promote national unity and long-term stability.

Abu-Husayn agreed that the Lebanese Army, the ground forces branch of the LAF, has failed to defend the state from illegal occupation by external forces. Meanwhile, many Lebanese—including Prime Minister Siniora—believe that Hezbollah successfully forced Israel to withdraw unilaterally from Lebanon in May 2000. Given the ongoing nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict, it would be implausible for Lebanese leaders to gesture toward taking action against Hezbollah, for which the existence of Israel is a principal raison d'etre. Furthermore, Abu-Husayn estimated that disarming Hezbollah through military means would be impossible for at least ten to fifteen years, especially given the substantial percentage of Shia troops in the Lebanese Army who support Hezbollah and could defect from the national force for ideological reasons as they have done in the past.

Read "Breaking Point: The Future of the Lebanese Armed Forces, their Role in Lebanon, and their Relationship with Hezbollah," by Nancy Henry, published in NIMEP Insights, Volume 3 (Fall 2007)

~ By Julia Bennett (MALD '08)

More Roundtable Events >