Fuad Siniora, former prime minister of Lebanon, discusses the implications of Osama bin Laden's death for the Middle East, the Hamas-Fatah agreement, and the U.S. role in supporting the Arab Spring with Mohamad Bazzi, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Listen to CFR fellow Mohamad Bazzi discuss the history of and the current sitation in Lebanon with Bernard Gwertzman.

Listen to CFR fellow Mohamad Bazzi discuss the history of and the current sitation in Lebanon with Bernard Gwertzman.

Mohamad Bazzi says, "Hezbollah is the most powerful force in Lebanon, and it has the guns to guarantee it."

The approval of a Hezbollah-backed candidate as Lebanon's new prime minister feeds concerns in the West about the militant Shiite group's growing strength and the implications for national and regional stability.

Mohamad Bazzi says the people of Lebanon are once again staring into a political abyss.

Pending indictments in a UN tribunal could link Hezbollah and Syria to the death of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Lebanon expert Michael Young says all sides, including Saudi Arabia and the U.S., are scrambling to deal with the impact of the findings.

Speech

Mohamad Bazzi discusses the Shiite influence in Lebanon.

Hezbollah is reliant on Iran but is hardly its proxy, argues CFR's Mohamad Bazzi, who says the group's power feeds on the weakness of Lebanon's government.

Mohamad Bazzi discusses Lebanon's role in a power struggle among Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.

A profile of Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah.

Mohamad Bazzi says Lebanon's southern frontier with Israel is the most volatile border in the Middle East today.

Lebanon faces new sectarian violence, and tensions along its border with Israel threaten to boil over. CFR's Mohamad Bazzi says to help avert conflict, Washington must eventually engage with the most powerful force in Lebanon: Hezbollah.

A profile of the Lebanese terrorist organization.

This Contingency Planning Memorandum assesses scenarios and warning signs of renewed Israel-Hezbollah conflict and recommends U.S. action to prevent a "Third Lebanon War."

Mohamad Bazzi comments on the death of Shiite cleric Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah.

Report

Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson argue that demilitarizing Hezbollah is crucial to rolling back Iranian influence in the Middle East and shaping an environment more conducive to Arab-Israeli accomodation.

Elliott Abrams argues that if indeed Syria is supplying Hezbollah with SCUD missiles, Israel's right to self defense as well as the relevant UN resolutions allow military action against this threat--and the United States should make this clear.