Through the efforts of the Lebanese government and the international community, the war with Israel was brought to a negotiated end through UN Resolution 1701 that lays the foundation for lasting security and stability in and around Lebanon. 1701 provides a great opportunity to consolidate a secure, democratic and prosperous Lebanon
The war in Lebanon deeply altered the concerns of elites and citizens in Arab societies. Following three years of unprecedented political dynamism and debates regarding the prospects for democratic transformation in the Arab world, the Arab-Israeli conflict returned to the forefront, turning attention away from the question of democracy.
Carnegie's Amr Hamzawy appeared on Al Jazeera TV to talk about the current crisis in the Middle East. Hamzawy discussed prospects of a national unity government in Palestine, Iran's nuclear ambitions, French-American differences regarding the war in Lebanon, America's strategic interests in the Middle East, and the confrontation between Hizbullah and Israel.
It took a United Nations resolution to end the fighting between Israel and Hizballah, but that hasn't stopped each side from claiming victory. RFE/RL correspondent Heather Maher asked Paul Salem, director of the Middle East Center at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to tally up the wins and losses.
Secretary Ric's heralding of the birth of the new Middle East amounts to is a belittling of true hopes for change now that the reform project is devoid of credibility, for it fails to intimate a better future in Arab minds tired of the inhumanity of the Israeli military machine and the gross ugliness of its American collaborators.
Even though many Lebanese people and several Arab governments criticized Hezbollah for instigating the crisis with Israel, the Israeli air attacks -- including the killing of many civilians -- have now quieted the criticism, and in fact have worsened the already poor standing of the United States in the Arab world.
On July 26, Amr Hamzawy appeared on Al Arabiya to discuss regional and international dimensions of the ongoing Middle East crisis.
On July 28, Amr Hamzawy and Paul Salam appeared on Al Arabiya to discuss ideological and strategic dimensions of Rice's "new Midde East."