Closed Roundtable about Lebanon’s National Defense Strategy

The Middle East Institute for Research and Strategic Studies (MEIRSS), in cooperation with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), held a closed roundtable of experts and academics to discuss a first draft paper dealing with Lebanon’s National Defense Strategy.

The issue of developing a National Defense Strategy has been a controversial one for the past decade because of the politically sensitive nature of the topic, especially in regards to Hezbollah’s weapons. Such controversy should not deter, but rather encourage, civil society organizations to depoliticize the topic and shift the discussion towards a more comprehensive and constructive one. While the future of Hezbollah’s weapons does constitute a core part of such strategy, it is not the sole aspect as it should also cover a wide range of threats and fields including cybersecurity, protection of civilians, oil and gas, etc.

Thus, this roundtable aimed to open the door towards much-needed discussion and research on the issue, with the hopes that it leads to valuable recommendations and plays a constructive role in the overall national debate.