While votes trickled in on Tuesday night, Americans were not the only ones with a vested interest in knowing who would be the next President of the United States.  Considering the weight of US foreign policy, it's no surprise that the whole world was watching, especially the Middle East. And despite the fact that foreign policy was one area of wide agreement between the two candidates, the Arab World no doubt had a dog in the fight.  Nonetheless, the re-election of President Barack Obama will have profound effects which will reverberate beyond the shores of the United States.  While Lebanon and its neighboring states should expect continued US financial, military, and rhetorical support for democratic transitions and sovereignty, the policy on Syria is not expected to change much.

The US Administration has been supportive of the Lebanese state and its sovereignty. Since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, then President George Bush became a supporter of the March 14 alliance, which revolted against Syrian and Iranian interference in Lebanon. U.S. President Barak Obama, however, at the onset of his presidency, was more willing to engage Bashar Assad than his predecessors, thereby alienating the pro-Western Lebanese group. Obama's timid engagement in Lebanon and the region, and cutting aid programs diminished the U.S. role in the region. The resumption of such programs was by no means guaranteed in a Romney administration, especially given the Republican Party's position (particularly Paul Ryan's position) on scaling back foreign aid.

In 2008, the formation of a new Hezbollah-controlled government sounded the alarm on the Hill. House Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, leading a group of congressmen, urged the US Administration to stop all aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), for fear it will fall in the hands of Hezbollah, an organization the US deems terrorist. US commitment to Lebanon was reaffirmed in December 2011 when Congress approved $100 million in aid, even though relations between the US and the Lebanese government were far from warm.

With the increasing violence in Syria, more voices grew conservative over the change of government, for fear that it would lead to vacumm and thus more instability. This view, in light of the flagrant security breaches and assassination of key Lebanese figures, is now changing.

The assassination of Intelligence Chief Wissam al-Hassan last month, which killed three others, drew in support for the transition of government. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Elizabeth Jones made that point in Beirut last week and reassured her Lebanese counterparts that critical military aid would not be withdrawn. These measures are pivotal as Lebanon fights to insulate itself from the escalating conflict in Syria. But the Obama Administration has to step it up on Syria in order to reassure Lebanon of commitment to the country's sovereignty and stability.

President Obama's re-election may give him leeway to pursue initiatives deemed too risky for his first term in office.  Already, the New York Times has reported that the Obama Administration is pursuing secret, bi-lateral negotiations with Iran aimed at resolving widespread concerns over the country's nuclear program.  A political transition in the United States may have stalled, if not jeopardized the progress of these negotiations. Now that Obama has been re-elected for a second term, it remains to be seen whether the talks with Iran would lead to any resolution on Hezbollah's arms - a highly contention issue for both Lebanon and the US - or whether the negotiations will fail in circumventing a future war between Iran and Israel. Such an outcome would be devastating for Lebanon, should Hezbollah choose to start a front on the Southern border.

Lebanon has important equities in each of these issues, not to mention the potential for escalation of US involvement in Syria and the possibility of war with Iran, and with his new lease on political life, the ball is effectively in Obama's court on many of them.  He is free to structure his strategy and his team in accordance with his objectives in the absence of whatever constraints may have been imposed by his own personal reelection.  But that is not to say he will have free reign.  His ability to take action, launch initiatives, and inject energy will undoubtedly be constrained by the divided Congress, the 2014 midterm elections, and internal developments in the region, including upcoming elections in Iran, Israel, and Lebanon.  Nonetheless, while foreign policy did not determine the election, there is much at stake for the Middle East-and Lebanon-in President Obama's second term.