Lebanon's Hezbollah Threat

Mark Silverberg
Hudson New York
26 August '10

Posted before Shabbat

It is becoming increasingly difficult to determine where Hezbollah control of Lebanon ends and where Lebanese government control begins. The terrorist organization now dictates Iranian decrees to Lebanese officials and institutions, manipulates their activities, and greatly influences the country's decision-making processes through infiltration, intimidation, and terrorism. No decision can be made by the Lebanese government or any of its institutions -- including its military forces -- without Hezbollah's approval.

The U.S. had hoped that bolstering the capabilities of the Lebanese Armes Forces [LAF] would lead to tightened Lebanese control of its border with Syria to prevent arms smuggling; stabilize the region; improve the LAF's counter-terrorism capabilities in dealing with Hezbollah; and generally strengthen the Lebanese state at Hezbollah's expense. But it ignored the fact that the members and commanders of the LAF share the terrorists' dedication to Israel's destruction. Caroline Glick reminds us that "during the 2006 war, the LAF provided Hezbollah commanders with targeting data for their missiles and rockets……..and announced on its official Web site that it would award pensions to families of Hezbollah fighters killed in the war."

Hezbollah's influence has gradually seeped into state institutions, especially the Lebanese army. The LAF's profound weaknesses -- and the level of penetration by Hezbollah -- is one of the main reasons why the LAF seeks to avoid a confrontation. There is a very real danger that, in such an eventuality, the LAF's Shiite contingent (numbering approximately a third of the Lebanese army) would desert and join the Hizbollah terrorist group, leading to another Lebanese civil war.

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