The Rise Of Hezbollah

Syria and Lebanon are two dramatically different states with a deeply intertwined history. They were both born out of French interventionism following World War 1, and have experienced complex and strained relations ever since. The two nations have both experienced prodigious political turmoil since gaining their independence, with both suffering from civil wars and conflict with their mutual neighbor, Israel. The war and turmoil that has plagued these two countries can be traced back to various competing national interests, as well as a struggle for regional power. The various religious groups in the area have historically formed transnational advocacy networks with the intent of influencing regional politics. These groups have proved to of been a major factor in the history of both nations.

During ISIS’s rise to power, there have been several key players, which have influenced the growth or decline of its movement. The center of Gravity (COG) for ISIS has been its ability to recruit volunteer foreign fighters from around to engage in its caliphate. In addition, local people from Iraqi, Syrian, and other Nations have been key players because of ISIS’s efforts promote fear and violence against their family or communities. Sunnis and Shia countries focused on regional power and security. Furthermore, the U.S. and its 70 Allies through Operation Inherent Resolve Campaign aim to defeat ISIS and promoting regional stability. The last key players are rival terrorist franchises or organizations like AQ, Taliban, Al Shabaab, and Hamas

Syria’s civil war is the worst humanitarian crisis of modern time. The “Syrian Civil war Began in March of 2011, between rebel brigades and government force; economy and infrastructure is destroyed” (Library, 2016). “Divisions between secular and religious fighters, and between ethnic groups, continue to complicate the politics of the conflict” (Corps, 2016). Additionally, the Syrian civil war has taken a significant

Lebanese Army. Hezbollah receives military training, weapons, and financial support from Iran, and political support from Syria. This is another terrorist group that are well trained and ready to kill without any remorse. Do you think that some day we will be able to live without fear these

The main payment systems to transfer funds to finance the global Islamic terrorism are through the traditional banking channel: wire-transfers and the hawala. Heads of terror groups operate in a different fashion, using higher value and higher risk methods of financing like drug trafficking in Afghanistan and diamond smuggling in Africa.

Chapter 11 in the textbook Homeland Security by Larry K. Gaines and Victor E. Kappeler, discussed in lengthy detail the way terrorist cells go about financing, as well as their financial needs. However, one of the most common questions asked today; once the terrorist organizations obtain the needed funds to plot an attack how do they go about moving the money without being detected? The answer given in chapter 11 in the textbook is through money laundering (Gaines & Kappeler, 2012, p. 315). Pursuing this further, terrorist cells go about laundering their money through a verity of methods. To better elaborate, one well known way to launder money is through priceless

Most of them come over to our country to rape it financially and bring over another family member to do the same. It seems that we are supporting our own demise. Yet a lot of those funds are sent bank to their families, some also make it into the hands of terrorist organizations, for the training of new terrorists.

Terrorist funding is a vital fragment of what allows the smooth transition of missions and acts of violence to take place. The money acquired goes into planning and executing assignments and operations. Funds are needed in order to provide radicals with adequate training, food and lodge, firepower and weapons, passports with different identities as well as communication support. The members of terrorist groups have to rely on funding in order to fulfill sustainment capabilities as well being able to function on a day to day basis. Many of them have families to support and the use of terrorist funding often goes back to the member’s families as contribution of their services and volunteerism to their cause whether political or religious.

Iran gave direct support to Hezbollah through the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Hezbollah opposed Lebanon because it was supported by Israel and the United States, and in 1985 it issued its political agenda through the “Open Letter to the Downtrodden in Lebanon and in the World.”# In 1989, the Taif Accord emerged and the Lebanese Civil War ended in 1990 when Syrian troops moved into parts of Lebanon that were not occupied by Israel. The Taif Accord balanced powers between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, and overall tried to maneuver equality amongst both groups although Sunni elites were given the dominant role. After the Taif Accord, economic conditions continued to worsen and many began to underestimate the ability of Syria to control Lebanon. Syria then made the strategic move to promote Rafiq al-Hariri in 1992 to rescue Lebanon from its eventual demise. Hariri was able to boost the economy and revive morale in the Sunni communities. By the 1990s Hariri was capable of governing Lebanon independent of Syria. This began a decline of Syrian support for him, and a decline of Sunni dominance. After Hariri’s assassination in 2005, Syria was able to grasp control of Lebanon once more, and enabled Hezbollah to demonstrate a larger role. First existing as a revolutionary Islamist movement,

The use of the Hezbollah has greatly added to the continuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict and has limited cooperation in all regions. The Hezbollah also attracted U.S. attention after a suicide bomber killed over two hundred Marines in Beirut.

Hezbollah was formed in 1982 by radical Lebanese Shiites who wanted to create an Islamic state in Lebanon and to free their land of Israeli domination (Byers, 2003). These extremists called their group Hezbollah, in English this translates to Party

In this day and age, we find ourselves at odds with our “identity” as we find that not only are we representing ourselves, but we also have ties to religion, sect, tribe, and family (Angrist). This shows that despite the cohesiveness and threads that attach us, it has the power to pull people, families, and in some cases countries apart. This conflict comes to a head when religion and ethnicity are interwoven. Hence when divisions occur, this can lead to violent wars that destroy trust between individuals. This can ingrain a sense of uneasiness and distrust that plagues people’s ideas and leaves a country divided. This is particularly evident in Lebanon. Ethnic and religious division led to the festering of feelings of marginalization and discrimination, which boiled over into the Lebanese civil war, a war that claimed the lives of 150,000 people (Szekely). The anger and frustration birthed from this to chaos, and conflict has in turn increased the division between ethnic and religious factions and led to the crumbling of Lebanese nationalism. This essay is specifically aimed at assessing the relationships between ethnic and religious divisions in Lebanon and explores how it contributed to the civil war. This is done by identifying and analyzing the main actors and makes an explanation of the historical divisions stemming from the National Pact, branching out to include the consequences of the civil war on the political structures and the identities of the

Hezbollah, a Lebanese-based political organization, has tried to increase its influence in the country of Lebanon, but they have continued military and terrorist operations against Israel and the West. It is estimated by the United States government "estimates that Hezbollah's weapons arsenal includes 40,000 to 80,000 short and long range rockets, as well as anti-aircraft, anti-tank, and anti-ship weapons" (CFR.org Staff, 2010). The fact that a supposed political organization has access to this

This group was created in 1978 and continues to expand its power today. It began as a branch of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. This terrorist group has several goals ranging from creating a Islamic state to continuing the armed struggle against Israeli occupation of Palestine territories. Their acts of

Hezbollah, meaning “Party of God”, was created out of a volatile time in Lebanon. Lebanon in the 1970s was a collection of warring factions within the country. Palestinian guerrillas, Shiite Muslims, right-wing Christian Phalangists and leftist Sunni Muslims fought alongside as well as against each other for control of Lebanon's destiny. Syria moved in troops to aid the Christian Phalangists against the Shite Muslims. Israel was