Hezbollah: Islamic Terrorist Organization
Hezbollah is a Shi’a Islamic terrorist organization. They had emerged in Lebanon in the early 1980’s as a consolidation of other Shi’a militias. Their early activities in the 1980’s had mainly focused on the Lebanese civil war acting against American and Israeli forces. This came about due to the Israeli’s occupying Lebanon for eighteen years up until 1990. Hezbollah waged an asymmetric war using guerrilla tactics such as suicide attacks against the Israeli Defense Forces. Hezbollah is regarded as being one of the first Islamic resistance groups in the Middle East to use such tactics of suicide bombing, assassination, and capturing foreign soldiers. Hezbollah then turned in to a paramilitary organization and used missiles and other types
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of rocket launchers, bombs instead of capturing, along with murders and hijackings. After the Lebanese civil war, Hezbollah transformed from a revolutionary group to a political one. They had decided to partake in the Lebanese elections and won all twelve seats for which they ran for election. Hezbollah states that the main source of their income comes from donations by Muslims. Although, they receive substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria. According to the United States government, they estimate that Hezbollah receives anywhere from $60-$200 million per year from Iran in financial assistance. It is also suspected that Hezbollah is involved in the international drug trade out of South America.
Hezbollah alongside with the Amal Movement is one of the two major political parties in Lebanon that represent the Shiite Muslims.
Unlike the Amal Movement, whose support is predominantly in the south of the country, Hezbollah maintains a broad base of support throughout all of Lebanon with a majority Shia Muslim population. On December 1, 2006, Hezbollah’s political wing began a series of protests and sit-ins in opposition to the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. On May 7, 2008, Lebanon’s 17-month long political crisis spiraled out of control. The fighting was sparked by a government move to shut down Hezbollah’s telecommunication network and remove Beirut Airport’s security chief over alleged ties to Hezbollah. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the government’s decision to declare the group’s military telecommunications network illegal was a “declaration of war” on the organization, and demanded that the government revoke it. Hezbollah-led opposition fighters seized control of several West Beirut neighborhoods from Future Movement militiamen loyal to the backed government, in street battles that left 11 dead and 30 wounded. The opposition-seized areas were then hand over to the Lebanese Army. The army also pledged to resolve the dispute and had reversed the decisions by the government by letting Hezbollah preserve its telecommunications network and re-instating the airport’s security chief. At the end, rival Lebanese leaders reached consensus on May 21, 2008, to end the 18-month political feud that exploded in to fighting and nearly drove the country to a civil war. On the basis of this agreement, Hezbollah and its opposition allies were effectively granted veto power in Lebanon’s parliament. They also have media operations to further their cause. Hezbollah operates both a satellite television station and a radio station; the latter is helped funded by Iran. These operations help Hezbollah in their so-called psychological warfare
against the Zionist enemy and help them spread their message to the entire Arab world. Their television station, Al-Manar, airs programming designed to inspire suicide attacks in Gaza, the West Bank, and Iraq, and because of this the United States considers Al-Manar television network to be a terrorist organization.
Hezbollah has a military branch known as Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Resistance). Between 1982 and 1986, there were 36 suicide attacks in Lebanon directed against American, French, and Israeli forces killing 659. Although Hezbollah denies involvement in any of those attacks, they are suspected of being directly involved with most if not all of them. They may not have taken credit for these attacks like other terrorist groups Al-Qaeda and their affiliates do to gain followers because Hezbollah is deeply involved in governmental politics and taking credit for those attacks could have had negative ramifications towards Lebanon. One of the main reasons that Hezbollah has become a household name here in America recently is their involvement in the Syrian civil war. In 2012, Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon and took over eight villages in the Al-Qusayr District of Syria. In January 2013, a weapons convoy carrying anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah was destroyed allegedly by the Israelis. Even though the majority of the Muslim world publicly condemned Hezbollah’s assistance to the Assad regime in Syria, they continued under the suspected orders of the Iranian government.
Although Hezbollah does not reveal the extent of their arsenal regarding its amount of heavy artillery or how many fighters they have, they are considered to be one of if not the strongest guerilla group in the world. The security director at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre estimated that Hezbollah’s armed wing comprises of 1,000 full-time fighters, along with roughly 8,000 volunteers. Those numbers are quite smaller than what the Iranian government boasts they have, according to the Iranian Fars News Agency, Hezbollah has up to 65,000 fighters. They are also armed by the Iranian and Syrian governments. They have been provided with long range rockets such as the Katyusha-122 rocket, which has a range of 18 miles and carries a 33 pound warhead. And they have also been provided with more hi-tech longer range missiles such as the Fajr-5 and the Zelzal-1, which can reach distance of 47 miles and 93 miles, respectively. They have also been equipped with Russian made anti-tank guided missiles, anti-aircraft weapons, and anti-ship weapons. In April 2010, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates claimed that Hezbollah has for more missiles and rockets than the majority of countries, and said that Syria and Iran are providing weapons to the organization. Israel also claims that Syria is providing the organization with these weapons. Syria has repeatedly denied these claims from both the United States and Israel and claims that they are just an Israeli excuse for an attack. Leaked cables from American diplomats suggest the United States has been trying unsuccessfully to prevent Syria from supplying arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and that Hezbollah has amassed a huge stockpile of arms since its 2006 war with Israel; the arms were described as increasingly sophisticated. Gates also said that Hezbollah is possibly armed with chemical or biological weapons, as well as 65 mile anti-ship missiles that could threaten U.S. ships in the Mediterranean. As of July 2012, Hezbollah reportedly had up to 50,000 missiles, more than three times the 13,000 it reportedly had when they had begun launching rockets at Israel just six years prior, leading up to the Second Lebanon War.
Hezbollah’s status as a legitimate political party, a terrorist group, a resistance movement, or some combination thereof is a contentious issue. Several Western countries officially classify Hezbollah or its external security wing as a terrorist organization, and some of their violent acts have been described as terrorist attacks. Although, throughout most of the Arab and Muslim worlds, Hezbollah is referred to as a resistance movement, engaged in national defense. In 1999, Hezbollah was placed on the US State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. After Hezbollah’s condemnation of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers because they were civilians (Hezbollah did not condemn the attack on the Pentagon), they had been removed from the list, but was quickly returned back to the list. In 2006, Hezbollah was regarded as a legitimate resistance movement throughout most of the Arab and Muslim world. Furthermore, most of the Sunni Arab world sees Hezbollah as an agent of Iranian influence, and therefore, would like to see their power in Lebanon diminished. Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have condemned Hezbollah’s actions, saying that the Arab’s and Muslim’s can’t afford to allow an irresponsible and adventurous organization like Hezbollah to drag the region to war. After an alleged 2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, the Egyptian regime of Hosni Mubarak officially classified Hezbollah a terrorist group. Following the 2012 presidential elections the new government had recognized Hezbollah as a real political and military force in Lebanon. While Hezbollah has shown support towards popular uprisings against the regimes in Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Tunisia in support of democracy, they have publicly sided with Iran and Syria in their own violent repressions of dissent by their own people.
While Hezbollah seems to put a smile on their face and act as a legitimate political party and defense force for Lebanon, all of their actions seem to focus on their hidden goal of establishing a Shia based Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East. They seem to help the Sunni’s whenever it may suit them in their fight against Israel or Western influence in the region, but at the same time they attack Sunni villages within Lebanon with extreme prejudice. Therefore, I believe they are one of the biggest threats to the stability of the world.
Works Cited
Norton, Augustus. Hezbollah: A Short History. N.p.: Princeton UP, 2009. Print.
"Hezbollah." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2013. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Oct.
2013.
"The Hezbollah Connection in Syria and Iran." Interview by Bernard
Gwertzman. Cfr.org. Council on Foreign Relations, 15 Feb. 2013. Web.
.
of rocket launchers, bombs instead of capturing, along with murders and hijackings. After the Lebanese civil war, Hezbollah transformed from a revolutionary group to a political one. They had decided to partake in the Lebanese elections and won all twelve seats for which they ran for election. Hezbollah states that the main source of their income comes from donations by Muslims. Although, they receive substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria. According to the United States government, they estimate that Hezbollah receives anywhere from $60-$200 million per year from Iran in financial assistance. It is also suspected that Hezbollah is involved in the international drug trade out of South America.
Hezbollah alongside with the Amal Movement is one of the two major political parties in Lebanon that represent the Shiite Muslims.
Unlike the Amal Movement, whose support is predominantly in the south of the country, Hezbollah maintains a broad base of support throughout all of Lebanon with a majority Shia Muslim population. On December 1, 2006, Hezbollah’s political wing began a series of protests and sit-ins in opposition to the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. On May 7, 2008, Lebanon’s 17-month long political crisis spiraled out of control. The fighting was sparked by a government move to shut down Hezbollah’s telecommunication network and remove Beirut Airport’s security chief over alleged ties to Hezbollah. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the government’s decision to declare the group’s military telecommunications network illegal was a “declaration of war” on the organization, and demanded that the government revoke it. Hezbollah-led opposition fighters seized control of several West Beirut neighborhoods from Future Movement militiamen loyal to the backed government, in street battles that left 11 dead and 30 wounded. The opposition-seized areas were then hand over to the Lebanese Army. The army also pledged to resolve the dispute and had reversed the decisions by the government by letting Hezbollah preserve its telecommunications network and re-instating the airport’s security chief. At the end, rival Lebanese leaders reached consensus on May 21, 2008, to end the 18-month political feud that exploded in to fighting and nearly drove the country to a civil war. On the basis of this agreement, Hezbollah and its opposition allies were effectively granted veto power in Lebanon’s parliament. They also have media operations to further their cause. Hezbollah operates both a satellite television station and a radio station; the latter is helped funded by Iran. These operations help Hezbollah in their so-called psychological warfare
against the Zionist enemy and help them spread their message to the entire Arab world. Their television station, Al-Manar, airs programming designed to inspire suicide attacks in Gaza, the West Bank, and Iraq, and because of this the United States considers Al-Manar television network to be a terrorist organization.
Hezbollah has a military branch known as Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Resistance). Between 1982 and 1986, there were 36 suicide attacks in Lebanon directed against American, French, and Israeli forces killing 659. Although Hezbollah denies involvement in any of those attacks, they are suspected of being directly involved with most if not all of them. They may not have taken credit for these attacks like other terrorist groups Al-Qaeda and their affiliates do to gain followers because Hezbollah is deeply involved in governmental politics and taking credit for those attacks could have had negative ramifications towards Lebanon. One of the main reasons that Hezbollah has become a household name here in America recently is their involvement in the Syrian civil war. In 2012, Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon and took over eight villages in the Al-Qusayr District of Syria. In January 2013, a weapons convoy carrying anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah was destroyed allegedly by the Israelis. Even though the majority of the Muslim world publicly condemned Hezbollah’s assistance to the Assad regime in Syria, they continued under the suspected orders of the Iranian government.
Although Hezbollah does not reveal the extent of their arsenal regarding its amount of heavy artillery or how many fighters they have, they are considered to be one of if not the strongest guerilla group in the world. The security director at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre estimated that Hezbollah’s armed wing comprises of 1,000 full-time fighters, along with roughly 8,000 volunteers. Those numbers are quite smaller than what the Iranian government boasts they have, according to the Iranian Fars News Agency, Hezbollah has up to 65,000 fighters. They are also armed by the Iranian and Syrian governments. They have been provided with long range rockets such as the Katyusha-122 rocket, which has a range of 18 miles and carries a 33 pound warhead. And they have also been provided with more hi-tech longer range missiles such as the Fajr-5 and the Zelzal-1, which can reach distance of 47 miles and 93 miles, respectively. They have also been equipped with Russian made anti-tank guided missiles, anti-aircraft weapons, and anti-ship weapons. In April 2010, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates claimed that Hezbollah has for more missiles and rockets than the majority of countries, and said that Syria and Iran are providing weapons to the organization. Israel also claims that Syria is providing the organization with these weapons. Syria has repeatedly denied these claims from both the United States and Israel and claims that they are just an Israeli excuse for an attack. Leaked cables from American diplomats suggest the United States has been trying unsuccessfully to prevent Syria from supplying arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and that Hezbollah has amassed a huge stockpile of arms since its 2006 war with Israel; the arms were described as increasingly sophisticated. Gates also said that Hezbollah is possibly armed with chemical or biological weapons, as well as 65 mile anti-ship missiles that could threaten U.S. ships in the Mediterranean. As of July 2012, Hezbollah reportedly had up to 50,000 missiles, more than three times the 13,000 it reportedly had when they had begun launching rockets at Israel just six years prior, leading up to the Second Lebanon War.
Hezbollah’s status as a legitimate political party, a terrorist group, a resistance movement, or some combination thereof is a contentious issue. Several Western countries officially classify Hezbollah or its external security wing as a terrorist organization, and some of their violent acts have been described as terrorist attacks. Although, throughout most of the Arab and Muslim worlds, Hezbollah is referred to as a resistance movement, engaged in national defense. In 1999, Hezbollah was placed on the US State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. After Hezbollah’s condemnation of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers because they were civilians (Hezbollah did not condemn the attack on the Pentagon), they had been removed from the list, but was quickly returned back to the list. In 2006, Hezbollah was regarded as a legitimate resistance movement throughout most of the Arab and Muslim world. Furthermore, most of the Sunni Arab world sees Hezbollah as an agent of Iranian influence, and therefore, would like to see their power in Lebanon diminished. Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have condemned Hezbollah’s actions, saying that the Arab’s and Muslim’s can’t afford to allow an irresponsible and adventurous organization like Hezbollah to drag the region to war. After an alleged 2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, the Egyptian regime of Hosni Mubarak officially classified Hezbollah a terrorist group. Following the 2012 presidential elections the new government had recognized Hezbollah as a real political and military force in Lebanon. While Hezbollah has shown support towards popular uprisings against the regimes in Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Tunisia in support of democracy, they have publicly sided with Iran and Syria in their own violent repressions of dissent by their own people.
While Hezbollah seems to put a smile on their face and act as a legitimate political party and defense force for Lebanon, all of their actions seem to focus on their hidden goal of establishing a Shia based Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East. They seem to help the Sunni’s whenever it may suit them in their fight against Israel or Western influence in the region, but at the same time they attack Sunni villages within Lebanon with extreme prejudice. Therefore, I believe they are one of the biggest threats to the stability of the world.
Works Cited
Norton, Augustus. Hezbollah: A Short History. N.p.: Princeton UP, 2009. Print.
"Hezbollah." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2013. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Oct.
2013.
"The Hezbollah Connection in Syria and Iran." Interview by Bernard
Gwertzman. Cfr.org. Council on Foreign Relations, 15 Feb. 2013. Web.
.