Five months after the end of the war, Lebanon, Israel, and the region are still feeling its aftereffects. In Lebanon, the claims of victory were mixed with a sober assessment of the massive socioeconomic losses, and the popular unity during the war was followed by deep division and rising tensions. In Israel, the sense of failure was confirmed with official investigations into the handling of the war, resignations, and political infighting. In the region, popular support for Hizbollah during the war was followed by a more mixed response to its role in the protests that began in December. Syria and Iran also had a mixed response to the war, finding both benefit and loss in its outcome. The U.S. administration also had a mixed reading of the war, feeling that some of its interests had been served and others had been frustrated. Five months after the end of the war, the players are still assessing its effects.
Click on PDF icon above to read the full chapter from a forthcoming book by the Center for Arab Unity Studies.