Today hezbollah s military wing controls the major faultline of the middle east. Iran lebanon hostage payments reported, facts on file world digest, 23 january 1992, p. Hezbollah responsible for a number of kidnappings and highprofile terrorist attacks against u. Hezbollah was founded by the iranian revolutionary guards in 1982 to compete with amal, an important shiite muslim militia active during the lebanese civil war. The lebanese armed forces, hezbollah and the race to defeat. Formed in 1982 in response to the israeli invasion of lebanon, hizballah the party of god, a lebanonbased shia terrorist group, advocates shia empowerment globally. The changing nature of state sponsorship of terrorism. The group has killed more americans than any other terrorist group except al.
Hezbollah is a shia islamic militant group and political party based in lebanon. Hezbollahs proactive support for radical palestinian elements engaged in acts of terrorism and political violence is central to these groups success and continues unabated. The changing face of terrorism by judith palmer harik. The use of the internet for terrorist purposes united nations office. But hezbollah s leader, sheikh hasan nasrallah, who we met in beirut, insists that his group no longer poses a threat to the u. Hezbollah is an iraniansponsored, internationally sanctioned terrorist group with an antiisrael and antiu. Hezbollah assists the syrian regime in training alawite fighters and even has fighters actively involved in combat in the field. It is far more dangerous than the revolutionary hezbollah of the 1980s due to both the means at its disposal and the double faced policy it employs. Since its emergence in 1982, hezbollah has waged an antiisrael campaign and guerilla war against israeli forces. Mar 22, 2016 daniel byman testifies before the house committee on foreign affairs subcommittee on the middle east and north africa on hezbollah s growing threat against u. The global footprint of lebanons party of god is the first thorough examination of hezbollahs covert activities beyond lebanons borders, including its financial and logistical support networks and its criminal and terrorist operations worldwide. The commencement of hezbollah military operations preempted the lebanese armed forces laf from putting in motion plans tied to clearing jan and the islamic state in iraq and syria. Hezbollah, and hamas is especially noteworthy in its potential to turn gaza into a genuine southern front against israel.
Based amongst the poor shiite population, it takes its inspiration from the iranian revolution and the teachings of ayatollah khomeini. The partys fighting strength has grown substantially since the 2006 lebanon war. It includes our visions and stances and the aspirations, expectations and fears that preoccupy us. The global footprint of lebanons party of god is the first thorough examination of hezbollahs covert activities beyond lebanons borders, including its financial and logistical support networks and its criminal and terrorist operations worldwide hezbollahlebanons party of godis a multifaceted organization. Hezbollah shows all the elements of hybrid warfare. National consortium for the study of terrorism and responses to. Hezbollah does not hesitate to harm the sovereignty of governments and foreign countries. You can read online the changing face of terrorism here in pdf, epub, mobi or docx formats. Jul 31, 2017 download the report executive summary on july 20, 2017, the lebanese shia militant group hezbollah confirmed that it had put in motion a plan to dislodge jabhat alnusra jan militants from lebanon. Hezbollah is generally considered the most powerful nonstate actor in the world, and to be stronger than the lebanese army.
Hezbollah hezbollah the changing face of terrorismjudith palmer harik published in 2004 by i. The use of terrorism in the political arena in lebanon the operational strategy of hezbollah in the political arena is to walk on the edge 1. The changing face of terrorism offers a history of hezbollah that is now outdated, so as with hamas this should not be the only book you read, but it provides a good starting point for learning about the basic origins and mission of hezbollah offering a look at the clanistic regional politics of lebanon. Hezbollah arose amidst the chaos of the lebanese civil war to resist the israeli invasion of 1982. The commencement of hezbollah military operations preempted the lebanese armed forces laf from putting in motion plans tied to clearing jan and the islamic state in iraq and syria isis. Urbancic, principal deputy coordinator for counterterrorism to the house committee on international relations subcommittee on international terrorism and nonproliferation and subcommittee on middle east and central asia. The investigation uncovered that syrian and senior hezbollah members were directly involved in the assassination 60, and in january 2014, in the international criminal court in the hague, four senior hezbollah members were put on trial for the murder of hariri and for committing acts of terrorism ayyash et al.
The lebanese armed forces, hezbollah and the race to. The present study, produced by the united nations office on drugs and. Hezbollah has the armed strength of a mediumsized army. Terrorism the use or threatened use of violence terror in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim hezbollah was responsible for the bombing of a tourist bus in bulgaria, killing five israelis an. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. The changing face of terrorism permanent dead link i. Hezbollah was conceived by muslim clerics and funded by iran primarily to harass israel.
The changing face of terrorism hezbollahs internal cohesion ended, however, after ayatollah khomeinis death in 1989. The group has killed more americans than any other. Download the report executive summary on july 20, 2017, the lebanese shia militant group hezbollah confirmed that it had put in motion a plan to dislodge jabhat alnusra jan militants from lebanon. Hizballah has been involved in numerous antius terrorist attacks, including the suicide truck bombings of the us embassy in beirut in april 1983, the us marine barracks in. Hezbollah defiant after eu adds it to terrorism blacklist video hezbollah dismisses a decision by eu governments to list the armed wing of hezbollah as a terrorist group 1. Hezbollah fighters have also led units comprised of iraqi shia militants, especially in damascus. Background and issues for congress congressional research service 1 overview and key issues lebanons hezbollah1 party of god is a shiite islamist militia, political party, social welfare organization, and u. Hezbollahs global reach united states department of state. Hezbollah is primarily based in lebanon, but has carried out terrorist and criminal operations around the world. Hezbollah chief sheikh hassan nasrallah, 2016 ap images 1982 19821992 1983 1985 1985 hezbollah.
Introduction a research about terrorism and resistance needs careful examination of each term, both terms need conceptualization to draw lines of differences between both terms. The internet is a prime example of how terrorists can behave in a truly. Hezbollah is a shiite muslim organization with a dual identity, being both a terrorist organization supported by iran and a lebanese political party. Militant shia terrorist network based in southern lebanon and funded by iran cited aim is to destroy israel while turning lebanon into a muslim state call themselves the party of god, and provide social services to the local population to garner support active political organization in lebanon. The new hezbollah manifesto november 2009 hezbollahs new political document aims to define the political vision of the party. Hezbollah changes battle tactics to fight syrian rebels. Encyclopedia of jewish and israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from antisemitism to zionism.
Although it was infamous for blatant acts of terrorism in the 1980s and early 1990s, it. Request pdf on feb 1, 2007, rola elhusseini and others published judith palmer harik hezbollah. Iran and hezbollah are intent on preserving the regime of bashar assad at any price, as a critical piece in their radical axis. The role of hezbollah in lebanese domestic politics augustus richard norton hezbollah is the product of a quarter century of history. Hezbollah of the year 2006 is a pragmatic terrorist organization that is wellarmed, welltrained, and equipped with highly sophisticated weaponry. A hybrid force, the group maintains robust conventional and unconventional military capabilities. A history of terrorism hezbollah is an iranianbacked, lebanonbased terrorist network with global reach that poses a direct threat to american interests at home and abroad. Terrorism as a force in social and international relations appears to some as a relapse into barbarism, a peculiar and dismal aberration of civilized life, and a step backward in the conduct of war. Israel also waged war with lebanon in the 1980s with the goal of taking out the terrorist organizations located there, one of which is hezbollah. Hezbollah has a 30year history of terrorist activity in lebanon, the middle east and around the globe, directed against israel, the jewish people, the united states and the west, prowestern arab states and hezbollahs enemies in lebanon. The role of hezbollah in lebanese domestic politics. The president must be a christian, the prime minister is a sunni muslim, and the speaker of the national assembly is a shia muslim. Hezbollahs leaders transformed the funeral of these 27 martyrs into a demonstration of force, mobilizing a crowd of 50,000 mourners that chanted death to syria. Hezbollah acts as a proxy for iran in the ongoing iranisrael proxy conflict.
The saban center for middle east policy hosted a policy luncheon on may 28, 2008, launching a saban center analysis paper of the same name. The changing face of terrorism judith palmer harik on. The papers author, daniel byman, presented a summary. During the 1980s, the cia and israeli intelligence began targeting hezbollahs leadership. Should the eu designate hezbollah a terrorist organisation. Despite the classification of hezbollah as a terrorist group by several states. Tens of hezbollah fighters have been killed in the fighting. Hezbollah originated within the shia block of lebanese society. Hezbollah was founded in the early 1980s as part of an iranian effort to aggregate a variety of militant lebanese shia groups into a unified organization. The main countries conducting counterterrorism ops against hezbollah are israel and the united states.
Even though hezbollah and hamas have in the past held different position on how to. When the idf withdrew from lebanon at the end of the first lebanon war 1985. At that time, ali akbar hashemi rafsanjani, a more pragmatic mullah, became president of iran and the countrys foreign policy began to change. According to a united states cia world factbook estimate, shias comprise 28. Jul 31, 2015 the main countries conducting counterterrorism ops against hezbollah are israel and the united states. Hezbollahs paramilitary wing is the jihad council, and its political wing is the loyalty to the resistance bloc party in the lebanese parliament. Changes include a repositioning and fortification of bases, increased use of unmanned aircraft and. It receives financial and political support from iran and syria, and its paramilitary wing is regarded as a resistance movement throughout much of the arab and muslim worlds. Within this context, the document called for jihad against israel, emphasized islam. But hezbollahs leader, sheikh hasan nasrallah, who we met in beirut, insists that his group no longer poses a threat to the u. Another way hezbollah fighters have augmented syrian forces is through acting as advisers and trainers for the syrian military and paramilitary forces, either in an embedded or partnered capacity.
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