US-Lebanon Relations

by Charles Chuman
The Aspen Institute and the Lebanese Renaissance Foundation recently hosted a conference in Washington, DC on US-Lebanon relations entitled: “Lebanon: The Swing State of a New Levant.”
It was held three years to the date after the assassination of Lebanese journalist, editor, and parliamentarian Gebran Tueni on 12 December 2005.
Much of the conference was filmed and is available at the “Aspen Institute Video “:http://video.aspeninstitute.org/labels/lebanon.html website.
The panels featured former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former US Ambassador to Israel and director of the Brookings Institute’s Saban Center Martin Indyk, US Undersecretary of State and former US Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman, Lebanese Minister of State Nassib Lahoud, Parliamentarian Ghassan Mokheiber, Quantum Group Chairman Elie Khoury, _Washington Post_ commentator David Ignatius, US Congressmen, and many other American and Lebanese politicians, intellectuals, and analysts.
The conference sessions will interest anyone trying to understand the complexities of Lebanon and the future of US-Lebanese relations.
Many thanks to Aspen Institute President Walter Isaacson, LRF President Elie Khoury, LRF Executive Director Firas Maksad, and conference coordinator Benjamin Ryan for organizing such an informative and timely event.
Michael Totten “interviewed”:http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2007/02/on-the-top-floor-of-lebanons-c.php Elie Khoury, one of the architects of the Cedar Revolution, and published his findings in 2007.