François Picard is pleased to welcome Bilal Saab, Senior Managing Director of the Trends Research Group and a close friend of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. Mr. Saab offers a cautiously optimistic assessment of a pivotal moment in Lebanese diplomacy, arguing that President Aoun’s visit to Washington represents an important opportunity to consolidate international backing for Lebanon’s sovereignty and state institutions. While acknowledging the formidable structural challenges posed by Hezbollah, regional tensions, and extremely complex Israeli-Lebanese security challenges, Mr. Saab contends that success will not come from military coercion, but rather a focus on the gradual strengthening of the Lebanese state. According to Mr. Saab, Lebanon is both a testing ground for American regional diplomacy and a fragile experiment in state-building that will require sustained political support and not symbolic declarations.