Lebanon - Obama Presidency Oral History Back Lebanon Index / Locations Transcripts Michael Kassen ...states on its northern border, in Lebanon and Syria. It has Egypt, which i... Mara Rudman ...I had somebody in Morocco, somebody in Lebanon and in Egypt. We had various kinds o... ...it had changed their aspirations. Now, Lebanon has challenges. But to me, I see it... Jeffrey Feltman ...Feltman served as the US ambassador to Lebanon from 2004 to 2008. Before that, he hel... ...in a way, in your ambassadorship in Lebanon from 2004 to 2008—a really interestin... ...to the Hungary experience in that the Lebanon that I left had significan... ...geopolitical differences from the Lebanon to which I had arrived when I presente... ...summer of 2004. In the summer of 2004, Lebanon was under a decades-long Syria... ...back, reduce the Syrian influence in Lebanon . For years the US had tolerated—i... ...even supported—the Syrian presence in Lebanon , as the way that sort of ended th... ...that sort of ended the civil war, kept Lebanon from exploding again. But by 2004—thi... ...push the Syrians back. I went out to Lebanon with sort of the writ to find ways t... ...a more independent, more sovereign Lebanon , and we did it in partnership with th... ...in trying to get the Syrians out of Lebanon , and it was a way to overcome the ver... ...much was happening on the ground in Lebanon . There were a few small, brav... ...probably the most powerful figure in Lebanon —was assassinated on the streets o... ...other way, been paying no attention to Lebanon , I don't think that you would hav... ...the external world was so focused on Lebanon , and because the internal side o... ...and because the internal side of Lebanon was suddenly provoked to action becaus... ...that align with ours. In what ways in Lebanon did you work with, or find ways to wor... ...It was easier then than it is now in Lebanon . In Lebanon now, the current protes... ...then than it is now in Lebanon. In Lebanon now, the current protest movement—thi... ...that we see in Iraq, that we see in Lebanon , that we see in Hong Kong is thi... ...the other thing that happened in Lebanon was the 2006 war between Israel an... ...we wanted to support a government of Lebanon . The government of Lebanon had t... ...of Lebanon. The government of Lebanon had to represent the [unclear] a... ...had to represent the [unclear] at Lebanon ; Hezbollah, in Lebanon, has provoke... ...the [unclear] at Lebanon; Hezbollah, in Lebanon , has provoked this war. It was jus... ...the central bank and the reserves of Lebanon after the devastation of that war. W... ...I think it's fair to say that Lebanon was considered to be a starter embassy... ...to the White House for ambassador to Lebanon . But again, Lebanon was kind of ... ...for ambassador to Lebanon. But again, Lebanon was kind of a quiet, backwater, starte... ...we had this change of policy in Lebanon where we're now actively trying to ge... ...have the war with Israel, and so on. So Lebanon became very, very high profile. I ende... ...secretary, asked me to come back from Lebanon and take up the job as number two i... ...of serendipity. Had I been in Lebanon and then they suddenly said, “Jeff... ...inroads. If you look at Hezbollah and Lebanon , Hezbollah was able to make suc... ...for Yemen, for Libya, for Iraq, for Lebanon , for the Middle East peace process... Show more... Jim Steinberg ...certainly some of the experiences in Lebanon relevant to thinking about uprising... John Brennan ...people out of Syria and into Jordan and Lebanon and Turkey, and the stand-up of thos... Tawakkol Karman ...also in Sudan, and also in Iraq, and Lebanon . When the second wave of Arab Sprin... ...Sudan, in Algeria, and also started in Lebanon and Iraq. But COVID-19 [COVID-1... ...Pandemic, 2020-] stopped opportunity in Lebanon and Iraq. But people are continuin... Jake Sullivan ...It involved working over countries like Lebanon who were on the Security Council. I... William Burns ...were going to go—and Hezbollah in Lebanon —were going to go to ensure that tha... Samantha Power ...they're likely to go to Turkey, to Lebanon , to Jordan. And so what you see ove... ...to tell the leaders of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon —and I'm focusing on Syria just to giv... ...in those refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon , and Turkey, saying, “We're giving u... Ryan Crocker ...ambassador to Kuwait; and ambassador to Lebanon , to name only a few highlights... ...say, after my first tour in Beirut [ Lebanon ] as political counsel—that was '81... Load more Transcripts Related Topics go to the Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa go to the Transition Transition go to the Elections and Campaigns Elections and Campaigns go to the Asia Rebalance Asia Rebalance go to the Counterterrorism Counterterrorism