The United States (US) Department of State (DoS) recognizes some 59 terrorist organizations with foreign origins. Of those, Hezbollah potentially poses the most danger to the U.S., and is capable of executing terrorist attacks, and criminal activities within our borders. Hezbollah has been an active threat against Western nations with a presence in the Middle-East, Israel, and to the U.S. for over 30 years. Hezbollah has extended its influence and operations around the world, and have setup extensive networks capable of executing terrorist attacks and facilitating criminal activity across the globe.
Origins
In 1982, violence in the Middle East broke erupted with an Israeli invasion into the lower regions of Lebanon. Emerging …show more content…
The organization believes using violence is justified in order to destroy its enemies, specifically Israel, and to liberate Jerusalem (TRAC 2014). At the same time, this foreign terrorist organization rejects the use of violence as propaganda designed “to impose an Islamic government on Lebanon by force” (Jackson 2009, 71). This does not however stop Hezbollah from establishing relationships with other foreign terrorist and criminal organizations that may not have the same ideologies or beliefs. This does not seem to violate their moral or ethical views. When it comes to raising funds and obtaining materials to carry out operations, Hezbollah is willing to use whatever means available, and is in the belief that the end state justifies the …show more content…
Once a follower of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein, Qassem was radicalized into Hezbollah, and has also served the organization for over 22 years. Qassem comes from a Shiite Lebanese family, and is mainly responsible for leading Hezbollah’s political wing. (IDF 2014) Responsible for leading international operations is Mustafa Badr Al Din. Born in Lebanon, Al Din served as part of Fatah’s Force 17 in Beirut as a bomb maker. He is believed to have headed the failed attempt to assassinate the emir of Kuwait in 1985, and is suspected of carrying out the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri, in 2005. (IDF 2014) Hezbollah’s leadership structure ensures that there is a centralized system of control. While the organization is broken into multiple cells world wide, resources cannot be allocated, and operations cannot be executed autonomously (Jackson 2009, 36). This measure of control does ensure that individual cells around the world do not carry out an attack or criminal act that doesn’t serve the interest of Hezbollah.
Capabilities, Base of Operations, and
Origins
In 1982, violence in the Middle East broke erupted with an Israeli invasion into the lower regions of Lebanon. Emerging …show more content…
The organization believes using violence is justified in order to destroy its enemies, specifically Israel, and to liberate Jerusalem (TRAC 2014). At the same time, this foreign terrorist organization rejects the use of violence as propaganda designed “to impose an Islamic government on Lebanon by force” (Jackson 2009, 71). This does not however stop Hezbollah from establishing relationships with other foreign terrorist and criminal organizations that may not have the same ideologies or beliefs. This does not seem to violate their moral or ethical views. When it comes to raising funds and obtaining materials to carry out operations, Hezbollah is willing to use whatever means available, and is in the belief that the end state justifies the …show more content…
Once a follower of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein, Qassem was radicalized into Hezbollah, and has also served the organization for over 22 years. Qassem comes from a Shiite Lebanese family, and is mainly responsible for leading Hezbollah’s political wing. (IDF 2014) Responsible for leading international operations is Mustafa Badr Al Din. Born in Lebanon, Al Din served as part of Fatah’s Force 17 in Beirut as a bomb maker. He is believed to have headed the failed attempt to assassinate the emir of Kuwait in 1985, and is suspected of carrying out the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri, in 2005. (IDF 2014) Hezbollah’s leadership structure ensures that there is a centralized system of control. While the organization is broken into multiple cells world wide, resources cannot be allocated, and operations cannot be executed autonomously (Jackson 2009, 36). This measure of control does ensure that individual cells around the world do not carry out an attack or criminal act that doesn’t serve the interest of Hezbollah.
Capabilities, Base of Operations, and