Hezbollah Essay Example for Free

al-Jihad EssayHezbollah, Arabic for Party of God, is as well known as Islamic Jihad for the waiver of Palestine, the Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and as the Revolutionary Justice Organization (Global protective covering, p. 1). Hezbollah (also al-Jihad and Hizb tout ensembleah) is a Lebanese social, political and paramilitary organization founded in 1982. Hezbollahs historical and political background was the Israeli Defense Forces presence in Lebanon (1982-2000), the Lebanese well-behaved fight (1979-1990) and the plight of Arab Palestinians, many of whom had fled to Lebanon, where their presence changed the historical balance surrounded by Muslims and Christians (Bennett, 2005, p. 214).In the war, Lebanons various spiritual communities vied for place and Hezbollah was established as by Shia to strengthen their traditionally weak political position, with help from Iran and Syria. Committed to making Lebanon an Islamic state, to the venting of Israeli occupied territory (which it claims means dismantling the Israeli state) Hezbollah was named a terrorist organization by the USA in 1994.One scholar describes the organization, which has lay in Parliament and in the Cabinet, runs a large social welfare program, as a moderate, mainstream political party (Harik, 2007, p. xiv). Harik says that Hezbollah is considered a legitimate resistance force all over the Arab and Muslim worlds (p. 7). Azani discusses Hezbollah as a social protest movement (2009, p. 1). This raises the question whether the US is correct to label Hezbollah a terror organization and why it does so? Harik says that no one has ever proved that Hezbollah has ever fervoured a civilian (p. xiv) or that it was responsible for(p) for attacks on US personnel (p. 193). In responding to these questions, what follows examines the history of the organizations, its aims, programs and activities and why the US regards it as a terrorist organization.The Shia in LebanonModern Lebanon wa s created after World War I, when the Great Powers defeated the Ottoman Empire and divided the Middle East among themselves as League of Nations mandates. These newly created states were to be given license when they were considered ready for self-determination. The Lebanon became a French mandate. Lebanon was phantasmally diverse, with Christians in a small majority, followed by Sunni Muslims, followed by the Shia. Under four centuries of Ottoman rule, the Shia were suspected being Irans fifth part column. Consequently, the community was impoverished and beneathdeveloped (Norton, 2009, p. 12).Under the French, an attempt was make to share power between the main communities. The Marionite were given the Presidency, the Sunni the office of Prime Minister, which left the Shia with the Speakership, a position with far weaker constitutional powers (Norton, p. 12). This was based on the 1932 census, which, says Norton, was the last official census ever conducted in Lebanon (p. 12). Th is arrangement continued after independence in 1943. The Shia community in Beirut was very small most lived in the south and in the Beqaa valley. Azani says that the political awakening of the Shia began in the 1960s and 1970s, led by Imam Musa al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric with the characteristics of a religious and political leader.Born in Iran to a Lebanse family he analyze at the great centers of Shia learning (p. 48). From 1959, al-Sadr was Mufti of Tyre and in less than two decades he succeeded, with strenuous activity, charisma and high rhetorical ability, in organizing the Shia community, characterized for hundreds of years by passivity and isolationalism, and in mobilizing it into collective activity for the realization of social and political goals (pp. 48-49). The influx of Palestinian refugees into South Lebanon upset the traditional power of the Shia elite in the region.The increasing politicization of Shia leaders in Iran impacted their role in Lebanon. From the 1970s, the number and influence of clerics increased, with al-Sadr and the future founder of Hezbollah, gallant Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, leading a movement that wanted to bring about an Islamic revolution in Lebanon, following the Iranian revolution of 1979.The Lebanese Civil War and the founding of HezbollahOn the one hand, the Shia in Lebanon were finding their political voice, encouraged by co-religionists in Iran. On the other hand, the security measure situation in Lebanon was deteriorating. The tradition of good relations between communities was breaking down with Christians being depicted as pro-Israeli, while Muslims were aligned with the Palestinian cause. April 13, 1973 a Christian paramilitary group ambushed a Palestinian bus in retaliation for the killing of a Christian earlier that day (Bennett, 2005, pp. 213-5).Fighting began between different communities, Sunni, Christian, Druze and Shia. In 1976, unable to stop the fighting the President asked the Syrians and other Arab le aders to end the war. Bennett remarks that as a result of the civil war, the record book Shia entered the horse opera vocabulary (p. 215). The revolution in Iran would reinforce the words presence in the media. It was in the context of the civil war that Hezbollah was founded. The Palestinian Liberation Army was raiding Israel from crosswise the marge. Al-Sdar mysteriously disappeared in August 1978 (Norton, 2009, p. 29). This led to Israel invading Lebanon in June 1982, and to Hezbollahs formation.From the start, committed to liberating Palestine, Hezbollah also raided across the border. However, its immediate aim was to end Israels presence in Lebanon. Between spring 1983 and the summer of 1985, Hezbollah launched an unprecedented wave of suicide bombings which included an attack on the US Embassy and US Marine branches in Beirut in October 1983 and the US Embassy annex in Beirut in September, 1984 followed by the taking of westerly hostages, according to Global Security (p. 1 ).Hezbullahs Aims and StructureThe organizations Consultative Council has 12 senior scholars at its head and a Directing Council under its Secretary-General.. The organizations charter sets out three objectives1. to expel the Ameri tail ends, the French and their allies definitely from Lebanon, putting an end to any colonial entity.2. to submit the Phalanges Christian militia to a just power and bring them all to justice for the crimes they have committed against Muslims and Christians.3. to permit all the sons of Lebanese people to determine their future and to choose in all liberty the form of government they desire. Hezbollah calls upon them all to pick the option of an Islamic government, which alone is capable of guaranteeing justice and liberty for all. Only an Islamic regime can stop any further attempts at imperialist infiltration (Richardson, 2006, pp. 83-4).Hezbollah and IsraelFrom 1978, a UN force was deployed in Lebanon to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces under S ecurity Council Resolution 425. However, it was not until 2000 that Israeli troops were completely withdrawn. Until then, Hezbollah carried out attacks on Israelis targets. by and by the withdrawal, Israeli continued to launch missile strikes and raids into Lebanon and Hezbullah in retaliation, launched uprise attacks in Northern Israel on an almost regular basis (Bajpai, 2006, p. 594). According to Global Security, Hezbollah operates against Israel in four main way1. brimging terrorists and collaborators through the border crossings usinf foreign documents.2. setting up a terrorist organization inside Israel and Judea, Samaria and the Gaza strip.3. cross-border operations smuggling weapons and terrorists4. financial support for Palestinian organixzations and groups.Others do not use the word terrorist scarcely represent Hezbullahs activities as legitimate resistance to Israel, which has defied UN Resolutions to withdraw from all occupied territory. Bajpai writes, even after its formal withdrawal from Southern Lebanon in 2000, Israel engaged in frequent military incursions (p. 594). In 2004, the UN called for the disbanding and disarming of all Lebanese militia (Resolution 1559). However, in the elections of 2005, Hizbollah won 14 seats (out of 128), and was awarded 2 cabinet posts.By 2008, Hizbollah had eleven out of thirty cabinet seats (Council on Foreign Relations, p. 1). In the 2009 election, it lost a seat but still received 10 seats in the 30 members Cabinet. Hartik says that Christians have supported Hezbollah, which makes it harder for its enemies to float the fundamentalist stereotype of a raging gang of religious fanatics whose main aim was to put enemies of the faith to the sword (p. 79).Other Christians are outspoken in criticizing Hezbollah as the stooge of Syria and Iran and as setting itself up as a state indoors the state (Azani, p. 231). As well as carrying out military or terrorist action, depending on the commentators perspective, it s pends millions on welfare and education work, funded by Iran. In 2006, Hezbollahs operatives crossed the Israeli border and captured two IDF soldiers. This came a month after Palestinian operatives had captured an Israeli soldier (Global Security, p. 1). In response, a 34-day war followed during which Israel launched air strikes, killing 56 citizens including 37 children (Bajpai, 594). As a result of this war and Hezbollahs resistance, its popularity within the Muslim world increased.The war ended with a UN brokered cease-fire and another Resolution calling for the disarming of all militia. Hezbullah did succeed in preventing a complete invasion. The Global Security report on Hezbollah states that in addition to funding from Iran and help from Syria, the organizatuon engaged in fund-raising around the world (p. 2). The report makes no mention of its extensive social program but the Council on Foreign Relations however describes it as a major provider of social function (Council on Foreign Relations, p 1.)Acts Attributed to HezbullahIn addition to the acts mentioned above, according to CFR, Hezbollah lists the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847 and the attacks in Argentine on the Israeli Embassy (1992) and on a Jewish community center (1994). Azani refers to links with other organizations across the globe. He lists an attempt to destroy US ships in Singapore in 1995 and arrests of members in 1997 for prep an attack in a US Embassy. The 9/11 Report said that Al-Qaeda operatives train at Hezbollah camps (p. 203). He refers to other arrests made in 1999 and in 2001 when plans to attack targets in South and North America were foiled. He says that the global network is spread across forty countries and every continent, including atomic number 63 where activists have also been arrested.In Germany, two charities funding the organization were shut down (p. 205). However, Hartik points out that while Western attention focuses on its guerilla activities in the Lebanon i t is social welfare activities that attract support, making it in her view a mainstream organization. It has achieved more in this field, she says, than any other party (p. 81). On the other hand, it has refused to disarm. After 2001 and the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in NY, the US has repeatedly asked Lebanon to shut Hezbollah down and to close bank accounts. Lebanon has refused to do this, claiming that Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization, which Syria also denies. Syria is one of four countries considered state sponsors of terror by the US State Department. In April 2010, reports began circulating that Syria had given SCUD missiles to Hezbollah. Syria denies this.