From 7–11 April 2025, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies hosted a seminar titled “The United States, Lebanon, and Security Challenges and Opportunities” at National Defense University (NDU) in Washington, D.C. The program was designed to provide an academic setting in which these officers could identify shared security challenges, examine potential opportunities to address these challenges, and consider ways to strengthen the United States’ relationship with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). This seminar provided an opportunity for the LAF to learn and exchange ideas with NESA Center faculty and other subject-matter experts and scholars.

Course Director Dr. Michael Sharnoff (front table, left) and Assistant Professor Jeffrey Payne (front table, right) speaking on the second day of the Lebanese Armed Forces Seminar.

NESA Center Associate Professor Dr. Michael Sharnoff led the seminar, which focused on five main themes: Understanding the U.S. Government, U.S. Global Priorities, U.S. and Partner Engagement in the Middle East, and Lebanon’s future defense security relationship with the U.S. Thirty-six members from the LAF participated in the program, with discussions held off-the-record under the Chatham House Rule of non-attribution. This format helps facilitate optimal participant engagement to discuss sensitive and critical national security issues.

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