Lebanon’s political and social unrest that resulted from its 15-year civil war starting in 1975, led to the formation of the new Lebanese militia, Hezbollah. Comprised of, “…a motley crew of Shi’a militias and groups,” (Levitt), this militia rose to power to fight off the Israeli presence immediately following the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, in which Israel occupied southern Lebanon. Those intent of the group was to simply expel the Israeli’s from Lebanon, but the group instead took on an ideology, and began to rise in power as a group due to Iranian and Syrian support.
While the group is still very much alive in Lebanon and the rest of the Middle East today, the group’s alleged actions since its formation has led to its being cited several times as a dangerous terrorist organization. The 1980’s were especially a violent time in Hezbollah’s history, when, “Over a nine-month period in 1985, the CIA calculated, Iran’s Lebanese proxy groups were responsible for at least 24 international terrorist incidents,” (Levitt). The CIA’s insistence in the 1980’s that the greatest threat to America from the Middle East was terrorism funded and supported by Iran only furthered Hezbollah’s image as a radical Islamic group. Hezbollah’s common use of planned suicide bombings, assassinations, as well as hijackings were partly due to its spiritual leaders’ ideologies, which supported and advocated anti-Israeli and anti-Western extremism. One such leader was Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, who was seen by the CIA as the, “spiritual leader of and political spokesman for Lebanon’s Shi’a Hezbollah,” (Levitt).
Fadlallah rose in prominence due to his influential public addresses and publications, charity work, and humanitarianism, but his central ideology revolved around a violent and combative relationship with the United States, Israel, and the Western powers in general. After initially backing Iran’s Islamic revolution in its beginnings, Fadlallah chose to separate himself from the revolution and its ideals as time went on. Iran’s revolution inspired Hezbollah’s strong held belief in making an Islamic state in Lebanon, which Fadlallah did support and advocate, but U.S. Intelligence analysts also suggest that he understood the need for religious diversity in Lebanon and in the Middle East. He maintained an alliance with Iran primarily for the significant political, military, and financial aid that Iran had and continued to provide to Hezbollah (Levitt).
While Fadlallah remains one of Lebanon and the Middle East’s largest influences, his beliefs began to distance himself from Hezbollah, and thusly power in Hezbollah (“Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah”). The rise of Hassan Nasrallah to a leadership role and his ideals to the forefront of Hezbollah contrasted to Fadlallah’s own religiously tolerant stance, as Nasrallah promoted a maximalist set of ideals that were much more radically in favor of an Islamic republic in Lebanon. Nasrallah assumed leadership of Hezbollah in 1992, and under Nasrallah, Hezbollah attacked Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until the Israeli withdrawal in 2000 (“Hassan Nasrallah|Biography-Lebanese Leader”). Conflict with Israel continued to flare up in the Middle East, and 2006’s clash between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Force in which three Lebanese prisoners were sought to be released from Israeli prisons, only led to large-scale bloodshed between the groups. Hezbollah attempted to apply pressure on to Israel to release the prisoners, and did so by commencing a military operation in which a number of Israeli’s were killed and captured. This assault led to an immense offensive to be launched by Israel, one that would last in total about 34 days. While a thousand Lebanese lives were lost, and despite critics citing the fact that Hezbollah essentially began the conflict, Nasrallah declared the war a victory, and became even more renowned for “standing up” to the Israeli’s intense military capabilities (“Hassan Nasrallah |Biography-Lebanese Leader”).
Hezbollah is still a vibrantly active group in Lebanon and the Middle East today, and has only gotten stronger and more powerful over time. Israel’s top military officer Benny Gantz even went as far as to say that, “Hezbollah is more powerful than most of the world’s armies,” (Blanford). Along with the fact that it is still considered a terrorist organization by many nations, Hezbollah can’t be defined as simply a state militia for much of its over-thirty-year history.
Written By: Gabriel Hernandez
Bibliography:
Blanford, Nicholas. “Israel: Hezbollah Is Now Stronger than Any Arab Army.” The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 9 June 2014. Web. 31 May 2015.
“Hassan Nasrallah | Biography – Lebanese Leader.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 30 May 2015.
Levitt, Matthew. “The Origins of Hezbollah.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 30 May 2015.
“Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah.” Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2015.
Hezbollah UCSC 2015 