Hezbollah and its Campaign of Terror against Israel and West - Term Paper Example

Abstract The Hezbollah, which is principally based in Lebanon, is considered to be one of the largest and most powerful of the politico-military organizations that has been consistently staging attacks against Israeli forces. Since the mid-eighties, it has also been accused of launching terroristic activities targeting the West. In fact, it has been the first to allegedly use suicide bombings as a tactic. On the other hand, the Hezbollah is not just a ragtag band of terrorists nor is does it have a deep underground organization structure with small cells with connections difficult to trace. It is virtually out in the open, with wide domestic support from varying sectors in Lebanese society. It also receives backing from many Arab countries, particularly Iran. Hezbollah’s political machinery has been most effective in gathering such support. This is primarily because of the different social welfare programs it implements in controlled areas in Lebanon. Its political base is deeply entrenched and very effective that certain countries in the West insist that it should not be totally considered as a terrorist organization. Nevertheless, Hezbollah has mastered the dual tactics of political engagement and terrorism. As it appears non-violent and humane with its social welfare programs, it also continues to wage armed attacks against Israel and West. It has been able to advance its agenda with such effective combination of tactics. It is, therefore, imperative that Hezbollah be understood as an organization that employs both unarmed political struggle and terrorism. It is only by doing so that the appropriate means of engaging it can be formulated and implemented. Hezbollah and its Campaign of Terror against Israel and West Hezbollah is composed of Shiite Muslims in Lebanon. Although making up more than forty percent of the Lebanese population, the Shiites, before the 1960’s were very marginalized politically and economically. It was not, however, Hezbollah or the Party of God that first led the Shiites in a political struggle for their political and economic development. There was the Amal, a reformist organization that gained significant membership from the ranks of Shiites. Although it employed non-violent and parliamentary means of pressuring the Sunni and Maronite dominated Lebanese government to provide political and economic opportunities to the Shiites, Amal, for a growing number of radicals within its ranks, had never gained substantial victories in its struggle. The Islamic fundamentalists inside and outside of it were also discontented with the fact of Amal’s secular character. The following years, however, provided the bases for the formation of a more militant organization. The Lebanon was about to implode with a civil war in the “1970s and the armed Palestinian presence grew stronger, many young Shi'a found their place in or another of the fida'i or guerilla fighter organizations” (Norton 2009 p.16). Because of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s strong presence in south Lebanon, where most of the country’s Shiite population lived, Israel invaded the area. As Israeli forces pounded the south Lebanon with artillery and infantry attacks in order to destroy the PLO, Shiite residents were caught in the crossfire and their homes and farms destroyed in the onslaught. They fled in their thousands towards the Bekaa and the city of Beirut, where they got in touch with Amal as well as the militants within its membership. Consequently, they became easy prey for the propaganda and recruitment efforts of the militant Islamic fundamentalists. The conditions were ripe for such efforts as “many politicized Shiites also felt victimized by the entry of an American and European multi-national force (MNF) into Beirut later the same year, not only because it was perceived as pro-Israeli, but also because its mission was to support a government beholden to the right-wing Christian Phalange Party (led by then-President Amine Gemayel) and Sunni Beiruti notables (e.g. Prime Minister Chafiq Wazzan) and quick to assert its newfound strength by unceremoniously ejecting Shiite squatters from posh neighborhoods of West Beirut near the airport ("too close to airplane flight paths," officials said)” (Gambil 2006). With the internal conditions in Lebanon becoming more conducive to the establishment of a new politico-military force in favor of an Islamic state, it would only necessitate an external help for it to be realized. Iran, which had only recently achieved victory with its Islamic revolution, sent elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as well as arms and logistics to train and equip the members of the Lebanese Shiite-based resistance against Israel and the West. When Israel finally invaded Lebanon in 1982, the Shiite fundamentalist leaders broke away from the Amal, brought with them a large number of followers and reinforced it with more fresh recruits from Beirut, Bekaa, and south Lebanon. In the same year, they founded the Hezbollah. Since then, with significant help from Iran “the group organized the country's Shiite minority into a national force with its own militia, TV station, parliamentary bloc and cabinet minister while resisting national and international calls to disarm” (Morley 2006). Israel and the West have since declared the group to be nothing less but a terrorist organization. There were four fundamental factors that led to the formation of the Hezbollah. These were also the bases why many Shiite Muslims in Lebanon were encouraged to join its struggle. First is the identity crisis and discrimination that the Shiites experienced from the government rest of the Lebanese people. Since the establishment of Lebanon as an independent country in November 24, 1943, the Sunni Muslims and the Maronite Christians have dominated politics, economy, and culture. The Shiites has long sensed not just being numerically inferior but being second-class citizens whose existence has been largely ignored by both the Sunnis and Christians. Because of this, “the feeling of Shiite suffering and persecution as tragic experience presented Hezbollah in 1982 with community vulnerable to mass appeal” (Hamzeh 2004 p.12). The second factor is inequalities and disenfranchisement of the Shiites. In the field of politics, they have been politically underrepresented despite Lebanon’s National Pact of 1943, which provide legislative and executive positions corresponding to the size of the country’s sectarian groups. The Shiites were placed at such great disadvantage also in the economic sphere although they nearly composed half of Lebanon’s population. Most of them were found in the impoverished areas of the country. Compared to the Christians and Sunnis, “who were over-represented among the urban elite sectors of commerce, finance, and real estate; the Shiites were over-represented among the poor working classes in the underdeveloped sectors of agriculture and industry" (Hamzeh 2004 p.12). The third factor for Hezbollah’s growth is largely due to the sweeping attacks of Israel against the PLO and civilians in South Lebanon. The success of Operation Litani, which was how Israel called its attacks in south Lebanon with the aim of obliterating the PLO remained questionable. However, in the course of the operation, the Shiites bore the brunt of the attacks, incurring great casualties more than the Palestinians. There were over a thousand civilian deaths, mostly Shiites. Because of this, the “Shiites felt that Israel was targeting them as a community" (Hamzeh 2004 p.16). The final factor is the inspiration that the successful Islamic revolution in Iran gave the Shiites in Lebanon. Lebanese clerics who mingled with their Iranian counterparts in Najaf, Iraq, which was Shiite predominantly, learned much from the revolution. In their return to Lebanon, they desired for the same upheavals in their homeland. Israel, the US, and the rest of the Western world knew that Iran had a direct hand in the formation of the Hezbollah. In fact, the intelligence agencies of these countries continue to produce information regarding Iran’s very close relations with the Hezbollah. There is reason to believe, that Iran treats the Hezbollah as a stand-in in the war against Israel and the West. It provides Hezbollah with arms and finances in order for armed and terroristic attacks against the Israeli and Western military and civilian targets. The Hezbollah, on the other hand, has never denied its closeness with Iran. Its website, Moqawma.org, has many articles describing the strength of such relations. As its history shows, the Hezbollah’s growth as a militant organization can be largely attributed to the social conditions of the Shiites in Lebanon. However, as it distinguishes itself from other politico-religious organizations in the country in its more patriotic and militant stand against Israel and the intervention of Western foreign powers; it has also been drawing recruits even from the Christians, Sunnis, and Druze. In the political crisis that occurred in Lebanon in 2007, Hezbollah was able to seize the situation as an opportunity for recruiting thousands of new militants and fighters. It has since been quick to exploit any weaknesses in the Lebanese government for enlarging its membership and drawing in even individuals from the Sunnis, Christians and Druze, who have become very discontented with how the country is being run. Hezbollah is not just a patriotic militant organization similar to the many secular liberation movements that sprouted in the 1970s. It bears the hallmark of a theocentric charismatic group that anchors itself on Islamic fundamentalism and the ideas if a charismatic leader. Its recruitment, therefore, is largely dependent on magnetic personalities. Recruitment from the many individuals, who treat such leaders as prophets, is always possible since “followers of a charismatic leader are imbued with leader's singular vision about the scope and shape of the struggle and the best ways to acquire political gain" (Chasdi 2002 p.95). Therefore, it is not enough the conditions in Lebanon are ripe for recruitment. It is necessary for an enigmatic leader to stand out and lure young Lebanese into the ranks of the Hezbollah. With a propaganda often spouted by the charismatic leaders and amplified through the mass media, the internet, and the activists working in the grassroots, the bases for increasing Hezbollah’s membership are continually made fertile. Oftentimes, the contents of the propaganda revolve around the abuses and injustices committed by the Israelis and the West’s armed forces not just on the Shiite Lebanese but on the entire Lebanese people. A convenient conclusion was “that Hezbollah recruitment... had an allure for a broader constituency ranging from poorer Shiites to intellectuals and students” (Chasdi 2002 p.96). The Hezbollah’s influence reaches far beyond the Shiite population in Lebanon. Due to its armed, although terroristic, actions that contributed much in driving out Israel from Lebanon in 2000, many Lebanese from the majority sectors of Christians and Sunni Muslims sympathized with it. A proof of such influence is Hezbollah’s electoral victories since participating in parliamentary struggles in 1992. Although, there were some skepticisms and opposition from within its ranks regarding joining the elections and winning seats in the Lebanese parliament, the move was seen as essential in further making Hezbollah’s influence more far reaching. The Lebanese voters saw the Hezbollah as fitting alternative to the Christian and Sunni-dominated parties who had been widely perceived as tolerant of Israeli and Western intervention and as entities that had long been ignoring the plight of the poorer sectors. By 2005, Hezbollah was able to acquire 14 seats in the Lebanese Parliament. It was also able to strengthen its influence in south Lebanon by being a part of an alliance that vowed to resist Israeli incursions. This so-called resistance bloc gained 23 seats. In the same year, Hezbollah successfully had two of its leaders placed as ministers while endorsing another non-Hezbollah minister (Ya Libnan 20 July, 2005). Another proof of Hezbollah’s influence on Lebanon was when it was able to forge broader unity with the Amal, the Christian Free Patriotic Movement, the Marada, and even the Lebanese Communist Party. The amalgamation spearheaded the series of political protests that were launched from 2006 to 2008 against the perceived subservience of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to US and Saudi interests. This is an example of how Hezbollah, under the political leadership of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was able to forge alliances in order to advance its political goals. In this regard, as a legal political party with several seats in Lebanese congress, Hezbollah has been able to gather support and sympathy even from the non-Shiites. Therefore, it has effectively asserted its image as an organization that employs only non-violent means of struggles while denying accusations of acts of terrorism from most of the Western world. Despite its insistence that it is a legal and open political-military organization in Lebanon, Hezbollah has been consistently employing acts of terror against the Israel and the West, particularly the US, which it considers to be hegemonic imperialist power that threatens the entire Islamic world. During the 1980’s, when Lebanon was occupied by the Israeli Defense Forces first, then by the American and French peace-keeping forces, it would immediately admit such terrorist acts for the purpose of gaining support from the Lebanese people and from their Arab neighbors. Recently, however, the Hezbollah has seemingly upheld the policy of denying terrorist acts attributed to them. Nevertheless, its history and it continued maintenance of a highly-armed domestic militia and training camps provide enough bases for such accusations. In fact, it gained fame during its early years for being the first terrorist organization to employ suicide bombings against its targets. Although Hezbollah insisted that it was a justified armed offensive, it could still be validly explained as a terroristic act. The attack took place on “April 18, 1983, when a Hezbollah operative drove a truck crammed with explosives through the front gate of the US embassy in Beirut.” (Katz 2003 p.35) The explosion was strong enough to destroy and the building and kill sixty-three people, including seventeen Americans. This was proven to be only to be the first of a series of suicide bombings as in October 23 of the same year another attack was made on the quarters of the US Marines in Beirut, which killed more than 200 American soldiers and wounded about a hundred more. On the same day, 58 French peace-keeping soldiers were killed by another suicide bombing. In December of the same year, the Hezbollah launched its first attack abroad. Employing the same tactics, the US embassy in Kuwait was attacked, killing six people in the process. Even with the withdrawal of Israel from South Lebanon, Hezbollah has continued to launch attacks on Israel forces and civilians. These were allegedly done in retaliation for persistent Israeli incursion and over-flights on Lebanon. In October 2000, it abducted three soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces in the Shebaa Farms. More than a week after it also kidnapped an Israeli businessman and army reserve colonel, Elchanan Tannenbaum. The kidnappings were done to in order to pressure Israel for a prisoner swap, which resulted in the release of scores of Lebanese and Arabs captured by Israel since the late 1970s. This was not the first time that it instigated kidnappings though. It began such activity in February 1984 and in the next four years “captured a total of at least thirty foreigners, including seventeen Americans” (Byers 2003 p.36). Hezbollah has also been accused of launching terrorist attacks outside Lebanon such as the 1992 bombing of Israel’s embassy in Argentina as well as the bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which both led to the deaths of 114 people. More than a week after the community center bombing in Argentina, the Israeli Embassy in London was also attacked with a car-bomb. The United Kingdom and Israel both accused the Hezbollah for perpetuating the attack. References Byers, A. (2003). Lebanon's Hezbollah. New York, NY: Rosen Publication Group. Chasdi, R. (2002). Serenade of Suffering: A Portrait of Middle East Terrorism, 1968 - 1993. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Gambill, G. (September-October 2006). Hezbollah and the Political Ecology of Postwar Lebanon. Mideast Monitor Vol. No. 3. Retrieved from http://www.mideastmonitor.org/issues/0609/0609_1.htm. Hamzeh, A.N. (2004). In the Path of Hizbullah. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Univ. Press, 2004. Katz, S. (2003). Jihad: Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. Morley, J. (2006, July 17). What is Hezbollah? The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/17/AR2006071700912.html. Norton, A. (2009). Hezbollah: A Short History. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Ya Libnan. (2005, July 20). Lineup of Lebanon's New Cabinet. Retrieved from http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2005/07/_lineup_of_leba.php. Read More