Sam Menassa

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington comes at a particularly turbulent moment for the region. The war in Gaza has reshaped the balance of power. Iran is in retreat after successive blows to its military and political power structures; Syria is entering a new phase with the…

In a televised interview, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam sought to outline a vision for bringing the state back into the sovereignty equation and breaking the link between the logic of the state and the logic of force. He insisted that decisions of war and peace must be made by the government…

It seems that the negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, whether they are held directly or indirectly, are more than just talks over the latter’s occupation of Lebanese territory and the border disputes of the two countries. They mirror Lebanon’s broader crisis: the state’s capacity to make…

The big question in Lebanon today is: When will Israel’s all-out war against Hezbollah resume, and what will it look like? A flood of Israeli statements, as well as the party’s own rhetoric and its effort to convince the press that it has recovered and is now prepared for war (figures associated…

Last week was a watershed: the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh and the American president’s address to the Knesset will remain etched in the memory of both supporters and opponents alike. While it is too soon to tell whether President Trump’s effort will succeed, the objectives that have…

Tom Barrack’s recent statements can no longer be dismissed as casual remarks or diplomatic slips. He is the US Envoy to Syria and Lebanon, and they should not be downplayed; indeed, explaining his rhetoric as political naivete is itself naive. Barrack speaks in his capacity as the official…

President Joseph Aoun’s unprecedentedly clear and candid speech, explicitly labeled Hezbollah’s arms unauthorized by the state, was a long-awaited turning point in the complex relationship between the Lebanese state and the party. Nonetheless, this clarity was not translated into unequivocal…

Hezbollah, through the statements of Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem and its paramilitary deputy Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan, preempted President Joseph Aoun’s recent speech, which reignited the spirit of his inaugural address and affirmed the state’s exclusive right to bear arms. The party also…

The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the rise of Ahmed al-Sharaa to the Syrian presidency is the foundational episode of the regional transformation that is currently underway. It may well be one of the most consequential outcomes of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation and its aftermath or even the…

Ceasefires are a lifeline to those languishing under relentless bombardment, suffering displacement, and struggling to find food- with no escape from their vast prison. Yet, the fact that discussions and negotiations for a ceasefire continue suggests that there is, as of yet, no horizon for an end…