Analysis of the Hezbollah Organization

Hezbollah is a dangerous terrorist group that has been conducting its operations and developing military campaigns from Lebanon since the 1980s. Throughout its history, The Hezbollah (also spelled Hizbollah, Hizballah or Hizbullah) has acquired support for their effective military tactics and has generated criticism for facilitating the destabilization of Lebanon. Although Hezbollah utilized successful military performances and effective propaganda campaigns to recruit many members and develop a strong organization, in the recent decade crucial strategic mistakes and a diminished reputation has caused the organization to steadily decline.

After World War II, the United Nations established borders to mark an official territory for Israel. However, the geographical boundaries of the newly formed State of Israel forced many Palestinians to move out into the neighboring countries of Jordan and Lebanon, and the anger that generated from the expulsion caused many anti-Israel militant groups to emerge in the 1960s. The Palestinian Liberation Organization was one of these militant groups, and after the PLO attacked the northern border of Israel, in 1982 Israel retaliated by launching a devastating attack on the southern region of Lebanon. The Israeli attack garnered more animosity and caused more anti-Israel militant groups to develop, and the biggest of the new groups to emerge in the 80s was Hezbollah. Largely inspired by the Iranian Resistance Movement, Hezbollah adopted similar guerilla tactics to attack Israeli and American troops. In 1983, Hezbollah achieved infamy and worldwide recognition by bombing the US Marine Corps stationed in Beirut, killing over 200 American troops and causing the US to withdraw from the area. The guerilla attacks also damaged the strength of the Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and encouraged many Israeli troops to retreat as well, and the relative success of Hezbollah established the organization as an effective and legitimate militant group.

Although Hezbollah acquired the support of Iran, Syria, and Muslim extremists, the US and the western world viewed the organization as a destructive force that was destabilizing the Middle East and instigating unnecessary battles with Israel. As a result, in the late 1990s the US officially placed the organization on the official terrorist list. However, Hezbollah continued to accumulate momentum for its organization, as in 2000 another violent and successful military campaign against Israel caused the Israeli troops to entirely withdraw from southern Lebanon, which enabled Hezbollah to claim victory and which enhanced the reputation of Hezbollah throughout the Arab region. Additionally, another intense and extensive battle between Hezbollah and Israel developed in 2006.

A primary reason for the early success of Hezbollah was that the organization implemented effective recruitment strategies that encouraged many Lebanese citizens to join the terrorist group. Religion was a significant focus of the recruitment strategies that successfully attracted many Shiite Muslims residing in southern Lebanon. As the “Party of God,” Hezbollah used religion by perpetuating claims that they are fighting for God and thus their actions are justified and supported by the highest power possible. Society was another emphasis, for the organization would assure potential combatants that they must fight for Lebanon to help the people and to redress grievances against Israel. However, the success of the military campaigns was the most influential force for the Hezbollah recruitment campaigns. After demonstrating tremendous military prowess to overcome the Israeli army in 1983, the successful military campaign enhanced the credibility of Hezbollah and established the organization as a legitimately powerful military group. The success helped attract young people into the organization, which is important because attracting the youth increases the amount of combatants available and ensures that the movement is perpetuated into the future. The notion that Hezbollah was an effective organization supported by God attracted the youth because it provided young and economically disenfranchised citizens with a sense of power and with a sense of pride that they were fighting for a noble cause.

The legitimacy and credibility that accompanied the successful Hezbollah military campaigns also helped the terrorist organization obtain valuable support and funding from Iran, Syria and many wealthy sympathizers. Funding was essential because the financial support allowed Hezbollah to supply adequate resources, train combatants and fulfill recruitment campaigns. The enhanced power also enabled the organization to utilize the media and educational systems to spread propaganda and promote their cause. In addition to the youth and the rich, Hezbollah also aimed its recruiting campaigns towards average workers, small business owners, land owners, teachers and technological professionals. These working class citizens helped increase the number of combatants while also providing Hezbollah with the knowledge and skills that would help improve the organization.

After almost three decades of successful recruiting, Hezbollah has developed a relatively large and well-organized military group that consists of several thousand members. Although there are Hezbollah members all throughout Lebanon and in many other regions of the world, the vast majority of members are located in southern Lebanon. The well-organized quality of Hezbollah was established by Iranian revolutionary guards. With superior knowledge and experience regarding warfare, these guards taught Hezbollah to establish divisions and organize its forces like a traditional army, with special divisions of Hezbollah now including units for intelligence, engineering, communication, engineering, communication, explosives, antitank warfare and rocket launching. Thus, gradually Hezbollah was able to develop a terrorist group that was known for being well-organized, careful, patient, and knowledgeable regarding guerrilla warfare tactics.

The military tactics of Hezbollah were effective and helped facilitate the early success of the organization. Many guerilla warfare strategies were employed by Hezbollah, including suicide bombings in which combatants would dress as ordinary people to hide their identity, avert suspicion and ignite bombs on vulnerable soldiers or Israeli civilians. Although much of the world condemns suicide bombing as an immoral military strategy, at the time the tactic was a highly innovative technique that dramatically shocked the Israeli army. Thus, Hezbollah continued to utilize suicide bombing attacks in the succeeding decades. Another guerilla tactic that was innovative and effective was tunneling, which consisted of Hezbollah combatants travelling through underground tunnels, emerging from the ground momentarily to unleash missiles, and then vanishing back into the underground tunnel again. The Israeli army was uncertain of where all of the tunnels were located, and thus the element of surprise made this an effective tactic. Hezbollah also utilized roadside booby trap bombs that were hidden at discreet locations on the hilly landscape of northern Israel, including wire, cell and pressure bombs. Additionally, Hezbollah also utilized the attack strategies of snipers, kidnappings and assassinations.

The effective military campaigns enabled Hezbollah to acquire the support of Iran and Syria, and both countries provided the terrorist organization with more powerful and traditional bombing weapons. As a result, in the 2000s Hezbollah dropped over 3,000 bombs on Israel, including wire-guided, laser-guided, long-distance, and antitank missiles. Additionally, because Hezbollah is generally not strong enough to defeat Israeli troops in an open battlefield, the organization attempts to instead lure Israel into urban settings of Lebanon, where the guerilla tactics are more effective and where Hezbollah has a better chance of success.

Although the Hezbollah military utilized intelligent strategies to develop a strong organization, several strategic mistakes eventually led to the decline of the terrorist group. After decades of achieving an impressive perception of invincibility, in 2008 Israel was able to ignite a car bomb and assassinate Hezbollah military leader Imad Mughniyeh. Because Mughniyeh was the mastermind military strategist of Hezbollah, his assassination eliminated the perception of invincibility, severely impaired the quality of the terrorist group, demoralized the organization, and significantly diminished the reputation and credibility of the Hezbollah army throughout the world. Additionally, after the 2006 war and the 2008 assassination of their leader, reports began to indicate that Hezbollah was not strong enough to endure another round of fighting with Israel, which also weakened its overall reputation.

Strategic mistakes that infuriated the Lebanese citizens have also led to the decline of Hezbollah. By never establishing specific goals or parameters, Hezbollah sent the impression that the organization was going to permanently keep Lebanon in a state of violent war against Israel and constantly drag them into other international conflicts that don’t involve Lebanon, such as the Iranian nuclear conflict. Hezbollah also angered Lebanon by attacking the citizens, as in 2008 the organization occupied west Beirut after the Lebanese government determined to eliminate the group’s communication lines. The infiltration and disturbance of the Lebanese political system also upset the citizens, as Hezbollah was widely condemned for trying to overthrow leaders and for allegedly bombing Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Thus, the excessively violent and constant condition of war that Hezbollah represented, the attacks on their own people, and the disturbance of the political system diminished the popularity of the group, weakened its recruitment abilities, and caused Lebanese citizens to conduct protest rallies and burn the Hezbollah flag to express grievances with the organization.

Hezbollah was able to achieve more military success against the powerful Israeli army than almost any other group in the recent decades. The terrorist organization used innovative and intelligent military strategies to win battles and stimulate Israeli withdraws from Lebanon. Although Hezbollah utilized the successful military campaigns and effective propaganda to recruit combatants and develop a relatively strong organization, the strength of the Israeli army accompanied with strategic mistakes in Lebanon dramatically reduced the reputation of Hezbollah and caused the decline of the organization.

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