Forgotten Frontlines: The Case for a New U.S. Approach Towards the Palestinian Camps of Lebanon

Executive Summary

The Palestinian camps are characteristic of the greatest foreign policy challenges that face us today. They are ungoverned spaces in Lebanon, subject to official discrimination, extremely radicalized, and tied to decades of conflict. However, the United States has almost no official policy or means of engagement with the camps. This paper argues that the United States can and should engage them by introducing USAID projects, expanding exchange and educational programs, and targeted outreach and communications. Most importantly, the United States should adopt a policy of urging the Lebanese government to improve human rights and living conditions for the Palestinians. The significance of a new approach is not only for the camps, but more broadly as we struggle to more effectively counter global instability and terrorism.

Introduction

The Palestinian camps in Lebanon present one of the most dangerously overlooked and depressing situations in the world. Their circumstances are oddly parallel to that of the tribal areas in Pakistan. Both are ungoverned spaces, suffer from extremely poor economic and social conditions, perceive direct negative effects of U.S. foreign policy, and have a very high presence of radical political and terrorist organizations. But while the situation in Pakistan draw consistent international attention and has become the center of our operations against terrorism, the United States has no clear policy, direct aid, or public diplomacy programming directed towards the camps in Lebanon.

During January of 2009, I spent three weeks researching U.S. policy towards the camps. While my time there was brief, it clearly indicated that these camps deserve more attention and study. The camps are an unusual space where one can see how terrorist psychology originates-by observing a population that is constantly exposed to conflict, poverty, state neglect, and are victims of an absurd political reality. The situation brought to life the debates on terrorism that I had watched in Washington and Cambridge, exposing the ways in which our "War on Terror" framework and policies have fallen short of the challenges that we face.

This paper is a reflection of both my experiences within the camps, as well as my interaction with the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. It concludes with several policy recommendations, suggesting a more aggressive, innovative, and patient approach to dealing with a space that has until now been overlooked by U.S. foreign policy.

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