US special envoy describes Lebanon as 'a failed state' U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack described Lebanon as a failed state and Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah had effectively supplanted the government. (Video: IISS Manama Dialogue 2025 via AP.) NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! A House Foreign Affairs Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday underscored what lawmakers and witnesses repeatedly described as a "historic" but "narrowing" opportunity to