A detailed discourse on the reasons Israel's second war in Lebanon ended in "failure".

Mona Yacoubian, a former intelligence analyst for the State Department, says the special UN tribunal to investigate the assassination in 2005 of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is linked to the politics of Lebanon and Syria, with the Syrians trying to sow enough chaos to prevent the tribunal from ever getting underway.

An overview of the Fatah al-Islam terrorist group.

As violence once again threatens to overtake Lebanon, the clash of Syrian, Iranian, Israeli, and American interests provides a familiar backdrop.

Experts warn the disputes involving Lebanon’s political factions could escalate into civil war. Stabilization efforts are hampered by competing interests among external powers.

Abdel Raouf El Reedy, a former Egyptian ambassador to the United States and a Mideast expert, says Arab leaders need to engage Iran to find a solution to the crisis in Lebanon.

The "July War" showcased Hizballah's evolution into an adaptive, skillful, cohesive fighting force capable of registering some measure of success on the battlefield against a much larger and better equipped enemy, says this report from the Washington Institute.

Michael Young, an expect commentator on Lebanese affairs, says he has little doubt the recent assassination of Christian leader Pierre Gemayel and other killings in Lebanon were carried out by Syria and its Lebanese allies.

The assassination of Pierre Gemayel, a prominent anti-Syrian cabinet minister, further destabilizes a shaky political balance in Lebanon. The nation is left teetering at the edge of a crisis, the effects of which could ripple across the region.

A global push is underway to ban cluster bombs after their use in the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, as well as in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo, has left hundreds of noncombatants maimed or dead.

Cluster bombs made news after last summer’s war between Israel and Hezbollah, but efforts to curb their use remain grounded.

CFR Fellow Steven A. Cook discusses the impact of Pierre Gemayel’s assassination on Lebanese politics. He says Gemayel’s murder marks a return of Syrian influence in Lebanon and presents an opportunity for Hezbollah to consolidate its power.

A new UN report details a complex and troubling exchange that allegedly provided weapons to Somalia’s Islamist power brokers in exchange for dispatching Islamist commandos to Hezbollah and opening Somali uranium mines to Iran.

Lebanon’s political leaders are meeting this week to discuss a greater role for Hezbollah and other political groups in the nation’s government. But as is often the case with Lebanon, national politics have regional implications.

Joshua Landis, an expert on Syria and Lebanon, says the drawn-out Iraq conflict has fed an image of declining U.S. influence in Lebanon, which has led Hezbollah to try to weaken, if not overthrow, the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.