Mass Explosions in Lebanon: Implications for the Lebanese State and the Dynamics of the Escalating War Between Hezbollah and Israel

On September 26th, 2024, members of the Fletcher community were joined by Rami George Khouri and had the distinct pleasure of hearing his reflections on the mass explosions, pager attack, and escalating crisis between Hezbollah and Israel. More than 50 attendees listened in person and over Zoom as the journalist and academic outlined his thoughts.

Drawing from his decades of experience, Khouri outlined five major elements at play, around which he structured his talk: Hezbollah, Iran, the international system and human rights, the relevance of Arab statehood and sovereignty, and the role of history. Khouri noted that it is important to consider the framing and background of information we consume around the region, criticizing the narrow analytical lens of Western media and urging attendees to seek more diverse sources of news and more open lines of communication between opposing sides.

Khouri’s talk explored power dynamics in the region, the role of the United States, and the history at play. Some key takeaways include that this situation is developing and needs close monitoring and that it is not possible to predict what is coming. He talked about regional actors and groups in Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon but noted that there is not much information about their capabilities and commitment to conflict.

He spent much more of his talk exploring the role of the United States as an appeaser of Israel and called this a “real historical moment of reckoning” around how the United States will choose to move forward. He warned that the American State Department’s policy of non-contact with Hezbollah limits our ability to understand the nature and intentions of the players. Not only does it limit our knowledge, but he said the choice to privilege military force over diplomacy only makes things more violent, contributes to the state of perpetual warfare, and results in a lot of suffering with no real winners. His talk ended with some time for questions from the audience.

A recording of the audio of this event will be made available in the coming weeks on the Fares Center’s Event Podcast Feed.