Document Analysis II: Lebanon and Iran

Document Analysis II: Lebanon and Iran

Lebanon plays a part in the history of Hezbollah as the place of it's birth; Hezbollah can trace it's roots back to the Amal militia, created by Musa al-Sadr (Arena, 2006, p.456). Musa is the cousin of Muqtada al-Sadr, the one-time leader of the Mahdi Army in Iraq. The Amal militia was created by the Lebanese Shi'a during the Civil War of 1975. After the Israeli invasion of 1982, Iran sent 1500 “Revolutionary Guard to...infiltrate organizations such as Amal and train Lebanese Shia” (Arena, 2006, p. 457). Hezbollah was formed in these efforts. However, Iran has has been a major contributor to the growth of Hezbollah. Szekely asserts that “From its inception, its most important foreign relationship was with Iran, based on both a shared ethno-communal identity and a shared ideology” (2012, p. 115). In addition, Lebanon may be the birthplace of Hezbollah's drug smuggling activities. Arena suggests that Hezbollah may have first started smuggling opium and hashish out of the Bi’qa Valley (2006, p. 462).

Rudner lists the three major sources of income for Hezbollah; assistance from Iran and Syria, levies upon business in the area under Hezbollah's control, and income derived from the expatriate Lebanese community (2010, pp. 700-101). Levitt breaks down the sources comprising expatriate funding; foreign remittances, charities/front organizations, and criminal enterprises (2005, p.5). Arena states that Iran is the “chief finnancial sponsor” of Hezbollah (2006, p. 455). Updating Levitt's 2005 estimates, Levitt and Jacobson content that Iran provides $200 million a year to Hezbollah (2008, p. 75). Levitt and Jacobson further contend that, as a sovereign state, Iran has direct access to the international banking system (2008, p. 68). The Lebanese government also supports Hezbollah by financing projects initiated by Hezbollah in areas under Hezbollah control (Rudner, 2010, p. 704). This is addition to the tax levies that Hezbollah places upon it's controlled territory.

It is in the criminal enterprises arena that we return our discussion to the Hammoud brothers; were they just running a crime ring, or were they acting as facilitators to fund Hezbollah's terrorist activity?In United States vs. Hammoud, testimony indicates that money generated from the criminal operations was given by direct intermediary to Hezbollah (2004, para. 7) In addition, Lemon cites “Ominous photos of Hammoud and his band training with assault rifles and grenade launchers on rooftops in Beirut” (2014, p.1). It is clear that this criminal operation was indeed one of the sources of foreign income used to support Hezbollah.

Arena, M. P. (2006). Hizballah's Global Criminal Operations. Global Crime, 7(3/4), 454-470. doi:10.1080/17440570601073186

Lemon, J. (2014). How a Hybrid Anti-Terrorist Approach  Could Have Prevented Millions of Dollars From  Flowing to Overseas Terrorist Organizations A Case Study of the Hammoud Terror Cell (SAS White Paper). Retrieved April 27, 2015 from http://www.sas.com/resources/whitepaper/wp_40679.pdf

Levitt, M., & Jacobson, M. (2008). The U.S. campaign to squeeze terrorists' financing. Journal of International Affairs, 62(1), 67-XI. Retrieved April 27, 2015 from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220695733?accountid=87314

Levitt, M. (2005). Hezbollah: Financing terror through criminal enterprise. Testimony given to Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Washington, DC, 25. Retrieved April 13, 2015 from http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/testimony/313.pdf

Rudner, M. (2010). Hizbullah terrorism finance: Fund-raising and money-laundering. Studies In Conflict & Terrorism, 33(8), 700-715. doi:10.1080/1057610X.2010.494169

Szekely, O. (2012). Hezbollah’s survival: Resources and relationships. Middle East Policy, 19(4), 110–126. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4967.2012.00564.x

United States v. Hammoud. (2004.). Retrieved April 28, 2015 from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-4th-circuit/1235846.html

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.  Stronger border and immigration control, including an in-depth verification of all marriages between foreigners and Americans, with priority on marriages with those from primarily Muslim populated countries.
2. The seizure of all funds related to the Iranian government; if we can forego due process in drug possession cases, then we need to do it in security cases
3. The seizure of all funds in charities directed to the Islamic world.
4.  The capture and enhanced interrogation of all known terrorists facilitators; this includes those suspected of being such.  Persons due the rights of citizens will be treated on a legal basis.
4.  War against Iran; targeted strikes against all Revolutionary Guard and Qods installations.
5. War against Hezbollah' targeted strikes against all centers of organized activity.
6.  Cutting off aid and trade to all countries that do not mirror our actions.

Of course, "taking" these actions is easy when I can do them on my keyboard.  But I will say this, half-measures and compromises do not solve problems against those that intend us harm.

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You make an excellent point about hitting close to home.  It's not just that terrorists are funding their operations locally, it's that they are training with weapons too.  Islamic terror attacks tend to be targeted at creating mass casualties against civilians...Mumbai, the Westgate mall attack in Nairobi, the attacks on schools in Nigeria

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Speaking of striking close to home:
Two gunmen (most probably Islamist) were killed attacking a cartoon contest in Garland tonight.  The contest had a theme critical of Islam.

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/05/03/officer-and-two-suspects-down-in-gunfight-at-islamic-cartoon-contest-in-texas-possible-explosives-found/