Lebanon’s Gamble on Disarming Hezbollah, with Hussain Abdul-Hussain

Israel and Lebanon have been in a formal state of war since 1948. It was a fairly quiet state until the PLO arrived in 1970 and then Hezbollah – armed and trained by Iran – in 1982. Since then, Lebanon has declined economically and socially. The Beirut government agreed several times to disarm Hezbollah but never succeeded, leading to Israel fighting back against Hezbollah terror across the Blue Line. Now, the Lebanese government has announced it will cooperate directly with Israel in the disarming of Hezbollah, the reestablishment of Lebanese sovereignty, and a peace treaty. First, their envoys met with American interlocutors in Washington and appeared to agree on the parameters of a deal. • We find ourselves optimistic. We find that odd. • Are we right? Is that a step too far? Will this arrangement collapse as others have done? • Or, with the decline of Iran’s capability, is this the right moment? Join us for a conversation with Hussain Abdul-Hussain of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, one of the best observers of Lebanon we know. He will help us sort out the practical – as well as the political – possibilities and possible pitfalls.