Hezbollah (Party of God)

Hezbollah is an Islamic movement founded in 1982. The English translation for

Hezbollah is Party of God. It was established during the Lebanon War by Lebanese

Shiite Muslims who had the desire to create an Islamic state in Lebanon. They began to

develop in response to the Israel Defense Forces invasion of Lebanon. Ultimately they

wanted to free their land of Israeli occupation and domination.

Hezbollah draws its ideology from the Iranian revolution and the teachings of Ayatollah

Khomeini. “The Hizballah Program” was their first manifesto that detailed what they

were about and what they sought to achieve. Their ideological principles were:

- To expel Americans, the French, and their allies definitely from Lebanon, putting

and end to any colonialist entity on our land.

- To submit the phalanges to a just power and bring them all to justice for the

crimes they have perpetrated against Muslims and Christians.

- To permit all the sons of our people to determine their future and to choose in all

the liberty the form of government they desire. We call upon all of them to pick

the option of Islamic government which alone is capable of guaranteeing justice

liberty for all. Only and Islamic regime can stop and future tentative attempts of

imperialistic infiltration onto our country.

Basically, the document continues on to say that the United States and Israel are the

prime enemies and that they need to be eliminated.

Hezbollah continued to gain notoriety throughout the Muslim world due to their efforts

against Israel and the United States. Iran and Syria played a part in their continued rise

by providing funding to them. Hezbollah supported Lebanese infrastructure by providing

services such as medical clinics, hospitals, charities, and schools. This proved to be a

great way to win the support of the Lebanese people. With the end of Lebanese Civil war

Hezbollah needed to refocus their goals away from a military type organization bent on

destroying the Israelis. In 1992 Hezbollah entered into the political world, transforming

them from being a strictly revolutionary/militant group to a political group. Even with

the transition, they still remained armed and were considered a “resistance” group. They

also functioned as an arm of the Lebanese army, helping to combat Israeli forces.

In 2006 Hezbollah garnered even more support from the Lebanese people due to the

Israeli-Hezbollah War. Initially Hezbollah crossed into the Israeli territory and captured

two Israeli troops as well as killing several because of Israel’s refusal to release Lebanese

prisoners. In response to this, Israeli unleashed 34 days of massive airstrikes and artillery

fire. Israel’s goal was to obliterate Hezbollah and turn the Lebanese public against them.

It was estimated that approximately 1,000 Lebanese were killed, most of them being

civilians. The attack by Israel was far greater than what Hezbollah had done. Any

disapproval of the Lebanese people towards Hezbollah faded and Hezbollah now became

like a saint to the people, rearming and fighting back to protect them.

Hezbollah continues to expand and evolve as a legitimate political party. However, even

as a legitimate party, they are still perceived as a threat to the United States. Due to their
anti-US ideology they can be labeled as a terrorist organization. Numerous attacks have

occurred against the US. A sample list below details attacks against the US by

Hezbollah.

- Suicide truck bomb at the US Embassy in Beirut kills 63 people.

- Suicide truck bomb at the US Marine barracks in Beirut kills 241 military

personnel.

- Bombed a restaurant near a US Air Force base in Spain killing 18 military

personnel.

- Hijacked a Kuwaiti Airlines plane and murdered two American passengers.

- Hijacked a TWA flight and killed a US Navy diver.

In October 1997, the United States listed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. There

have been no attacks on US soil however many feel there may be in the future.

Tactics & Training

The militant side of Hezbollah does not operate like your typical army. Instead they

utilize a Guerilla style. The guerilla style is what makes it difficult to distinguish the

fighters from civilians. They wear no uniforms so they can’t be picked out easily. Iran

has been a large factor in providing weapons, ammunition, and missiles. Iran’s

Revolutionary Guards provide training. There are four levels of personnel in Hezbollah

(“Hezbollah, fighting techniques and tactics” 2006):

 1. Elite fighters – trained veterans with years of exposure and multiple training

tours.

2. Normal soldiers – little or no fighting experience. Usually in charge of logistic

operations and day to day activities. Also participate in combats.

3. Reserve level one – soldiers who have finished their military training with the

militia after their National Military Service at most three years ago. Rarely put in

combat situations. Logistics and information gathering.

4. Reserve level two – have finished their military service for more than three years.

One more squad exists called the suicide squad. Most information about them is kept

secret; however they do not undergo much training considering the nature of their

mission. Soldiers are armed with AK-47’s and RPG’s. They operate in small teams to

avoid drawing much attention. Usage of well-disguised explosive devices is also

frequently used.

According to Hezbollah leaders the different perspective their fighters have on conflict

losses gives them and advantage. Naim Kassem, deputy leader of Hezbollah, said, “[The

Israeli] perspective is preservation of life, while our point of departure is preservation of

principle and sacrifice. What is the value of a life of humiliation?"(“Hezbollah’s Tactics

and Capabilities in Southern Lebanon”, 2006)

It is easily seen that the Hezbollah fighters are willing to sacrifice anything to achieve

their goal. Death is seen as much more glorious than not fighting until the end. This

belief motivates the fighters to be more effective in combat.

Leadership of Hezbollah

Hezbollah is governed by a consultative council. However, they follow or answer to The

Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei. It is led by Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary

General. He succeeded the previous leader Abbas al-Musawi in 1992 when an

assassination killed al-Musawi and his family. Nasrallah was responsible for overseeing

all the organization’s activities both military and political. In 2007, Khamenei stripped

Nasrallah of his military command and assigned it to Naim Qassem, deputy to Nasrallah.

(“Sheik Naim Qassem Appointed Hizbullah Military Commander, 2007) Hezbollah has a

global support structure with members throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin

America, Europe, and the United States.

Part II

Hezbollah’s global reach makes it a threat to the United States both at home and abroad.

In fact, Hezbollah has killed more Americans than any terrorist group other than al-

Qaeda. More proof of their threat can be seen in their ideology which calls for the

destruction of the United States along side Israel. In 2003, Nasrallah said, “Death to

America is not just a slogan; it is a vision, a strategy, and a policy.” (“Palestinians:

Aggressors, Not Victims”, 2007) With Hezbollah’s reach they could become a larger

threat to the United States than al-Qaeda. Border security along with disaster response,

readiness, and recovery will be important policies that the United States must focus on to

counter Hezbollah’s threat.

The Secure Border Initiative (SBI) is an important policy to protect the United States

from potential threats from Hezbollah. According to the Department of Homeland

Security, the SBI plan includes:

- More agents to patrol the borders, secure ports of entry, and enforce immigration

laws

- Expand detention and removal capabilities to eliminate “catch and release”

- Upgrading the technology used in controlling the border

- Increase infrastructure improvements at the border to increase physical security

- Increase interior enforcement of immigration laws

Securing the borders more effectively is of great importance because Hezbollah

operatives have already crossed and reside in the United States. To gain entry they used

narcotics routes that Mexican drug runners do. One particular case involved Mahmoud

Youssef Kourani, a ranking Hezbollah insider, being caught by FBI counterterrorism

agents in Michigan. In the past 5 years, the FBI and Justice Department have conducted

probes into Hezbollah cells suspected of gathering intelligence in the United States. As

of now Hezbollah sees the United States as an enemy but there have been no attacks on

home soil. They view the United States primarily as a source of income by smuggling

contraband. Of course the more serious threat to the homeland is if Hezbollah decided to

start attacking. Since they primarily utilize suicide bombing as the method of terror it

would be relatively easy to initiate an attack. In an attack such as this, smuggling only a

few Hezbollah people over the border into the US could facilitate a devastating attack.
That is why it is imperative that border security be stepped up to prevent entry. One of

the most important parts of the SBI is expanding the detention and removal capabilities.

Often we hear about an illegal alien being arrested in the US but eventually released.

There needs to be procedures where if they are caught in the US illegally they are

immediately removed and under no circumstance should they be allowed to remain here.

Disaster planning, response, readiness, and recovery also play a role in dealing with

threats from Hezbollah. Planning deals with evaluating the methods of terror that they

may utilize. However, it needs to be constantly evaluated because as the US defends

against one method of attack, the terrorist group will search for other vulnerabilities to

exploit. If tensions between the United States and the Muslim world continue to increase,

we can assume that a terrorist attack by Hezbollah will occur on United States soil. It is

not possible to plan for every attack that may occur however being prepared to respond is

important. Prevention is ideal but certainly not always possible. Preparation can also be

facilitated by forging strong alliances with other nations. The sharing of intelligence and

information on Hezbollah could help nations develop strategies to combat the threat of

terrorism.

It has been almost nine years since the last terrorist attack on America however the US

cannot become complacent in this fact. Terrorist groups such as Hezbollah are constantly

evolving. As they adapt to the times and begin acquiring advanced technology they

strengthen the position to cause harm to the United States. It is up to the Department of
Homeland Security to continue to analyze, investigate, and pursue the threat by

Hezbollah to protect citizens both here and abroad and preserve national security.