If Lebanon hopes to leverage the true potential of the undiscovered natural gas reserves in its Eastern Mediterranean waters, then time is of the essence for it to settle the legal, political, and financial issues which have already begun to cloud one of the most promising stories to emerge from the country in recent years. And the U.S. is exerting an effort to mediate between Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus on the issue of delineating common orders, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Energy Diplomacy Amos Hochstein revealed at a roundtable convened at the Aspen Institute on Thursday, November 29, 2012. The event was hosted by the U.S.- Lebanon Dialogue Program, a partnership between the Institute and the Lebanon Renaissance Foundation.