Reformation of a Terrorist Group: Hezbollah as a Lebanese Political Party

Abstract

Despite the classification of Hezbollah as a terrorist group by several states, Hezbollah is recognized as a legitimate political party within Lebanon. The purpose of this article is to probe at the reasons why Hezbollah was able to achieve its current status in the Lebanese government while it still maintains a powerful, well armed military branch that has used force recently to influence Lebanese politics. An examination of Hezbollah's life cycle suggests that two major factors were decisive: 1) Hezbollah's political leverage over the majority government, and 2) choices by Hezbollah's leaders to moderate their objectives to achieve domestic political goals.

The author thanks participants of the Political Extremism and Democracy Conference at Georgia State University in June 2008 and the participants of the Southeast Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Seminar Fall 2007 conference for helpful comments and suggestions.

Notes

1. Although the United Kingdom recognizes Hezbollah as a terrorist group, it makes a distinction between the domestic political organization and the militant wing.

2. Leonard Weinberg, “Turning to Terror: The Conditions Under Which Political Parties Turn to Terrorist Activities,” Comparative Politics 23(4) (July 1991), p. 423.

3. Although it is tempting to debate whether Hezbollah still deserves the designation as a terrorist group, this article does not seek to address this controversial question. Articles and books that discuss the status of Hezbollah as a terrorist group include Nazir Hamzeh, “Lebanon's Hizbullah: From Islamic Revolution to Parliamentary Accommodation,” Third World Quarterly 14(2) (1993); Augustus Richard Norton, “Hezbollah: From Radicalism to Pragmatism,” Middle East Policy 4(5) (January 1998); S. Simon and J. Stevenson, “Declawing the ‘Organization of God’ Toward Normalization in Lebanon,” World Policy Journal (Summer 2001); Joseph Alagha, “Hizbullah's Gradual Integration in the Lebanese Public Sphere,” Sharqiyyat 13(1) (2001); A. Saad-Ghorayeb, Hizbullah: Politics and Religion (London: Pluto Press, 2002); and Judith Palmer Harik, Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism (New York: I.B. Tauris, 2004).

4. Naim Qassem, Hizbullah: The Story from Within (London: Saqi, 2005), p. 20.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid., p. 235.

7. “Iran/Lebanon Hostage Payments Reported,” Facts on File World Digest, 23 January 1992, p. 35 D3; 60 Minutes, “Hezbollah: ‘A-Team Terrorists,’” CBS News, 18 April 2003. Some say that Iran has provided Hezbollah with up to $300 million in the past year. See Bill Samii, “Lebanese and Palestinians Train in Iran,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 16 January 2003.

8. Numerous news stories from Lebanese and Iranian newspapers cite meetings between Hezbollah officials and Iranian government officials.

9. Bill Samii and Steve Fairbanks, “Iran: Khatami Meets with Hezbollah Leader in Beirut,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 22 May 2003; “Hezbollah Leader Praises Iran for Supporting Muslims,” IRNA news agency, 28 April 2003.

10. Augustus R. Norton, “Hezbollah and the Israeli Withdrawal From Southern Lebanon,” Journal of Palestine Studies 30(1) (Autumn 2000), p. 26.

11. See Robert G. Rabil, “Has Hezbollah's Rise Come at Syria's Expense?,” Middle East Quarterly 14(4) (2007) and Emile El-Hokayem, “Hizballah and Syria: Outgrowing the Proxy Relationship,” The Washington Quarterly (Spring 2007) for analysis about Syria's relationship with Hezbollah.

12. Qassem, Hizbullah, pp. 21–58.

13. Qassem, Hizbullah, p. 98.

14. Hezbollah Central Information Office, “Nass al-Risala al-Maftuha Allati Wajahaha Hezbollah ila-l-Mustad’afin fi Lubnan wa-l-Alam” (“Open Letter to Dowtrodden in Lebanon and the World”), al-Safir, 16 February 1985.

15. Ibid.

16. Interview with Sheikh Attalah Ibrahim, Central Information Office of Hezbollah, Haret Hreik, Beirut, Lebanon, 30 June 2000.

17. Mona Harb and Reinoud Leenders, “Know Thy Enemy: Hezbollah, ‘Terrorism’ and the Politics of Perception,” Third World Quarterly 26(1) (2005), p. 175. See “Daily Says Many Hezbollah Members ‘Social Workers’ Not ‘Terrorists,’” Tehran Times, 9 September 2002 for Hezbollah's response to U.S. designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

18. Five hundred and ten deaths were confirmed on the ground by Human Rights Watch. The 900 deaths are estimated by Jane's Defense Weekly. See Human Rights Watch, Why They Died: Civilian Casualties in Lebanon During the 2006 War (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2007) and Alon Ben-David, “Israel Introspective After Lebanon Offensive,” Jane's Defense Weekly, 26 August 2006.

19. Prisoner negotiations between Hezbollah and Israel occurred from September to December 1991, July 1996, June 1998, December 1999, January 2004, and July 2008. See Barry Schweid, “Hostage Releases Follow Years of Frustrating Diplomacy,” The Associated Press, 4 December 1991; “Hezbollah-Israeli Prisoner-Body Exchange,” Radio Lebanon, 22 July 1996; Hussein Dakroub, “Prisoners Arrive Home after Israel and Lebanon Swap Bodies,” The Associated Press, 26 June 1998; “Five Released Hezbollah Members Welcomed at Beirut Airport,” Radio Lebanon, 30 December 1999; “Israel, Hezbollah Swap Prisoners,” CNN, 29 January 2004.

20. Harik, Hezbollah, pp. 83–85.

21. Augustus R. Norton, Hezbollah of Lebanon: Extremist Ideals vs. Mundane Politics (New York: Council of Foreign Relations, 1999), p. 2.

22. Eyal Zisser, “Hezbollah: Between Armed Struggle and Domestic Politics,” in Barry Rubin, ed., Revolutionaries and Reformers: Contemporary Islamist Movements in the Middle East (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003), p. 94.

23. Bilal Y. Saab, “Rethinking Hezbollah's Disarmament,” Middle East Policy 15(3) (2008), p. 96.

24. Leonard Weinberg and Ami Pedahzur, Political Parties and Terrorist Groups (New York: Routledge, 2003), p. 62.

25. Qassem, Hizbullah, p. 190.

26. Qassem, Hizbullah.

27. Interview with Sheikh Attalah Ibrahim, Central Information Office of Hezbollah, Haret Hreik, Beirut, Lebanon, 30 June 2000.

28. Harb and Leenders, “Know They Enemy,” p. 179.

29. Zisser, “Hezbollah,” p. 95.

30. Qassem, Hizbullah, pp. 187–191.

31. In addition to the eight Shi’ite winners, the coalition also included two Sunni, one Roman Catholic, and one Maronite Catholic Members of Parliament.

32. S. Simon and J. Stevenson, “Declawing the ‘Organization of God’ Toward Normalization in Lebanon,” World Policy Journal (Summer 2001), p. 39.

33. Khalid Al-Haruji, “Hezbollah Official Discusses Political Stance, Regional Ties, Others,” al-Majallah, 17 August 2003.

34. In February 2006, Hezbollah's Secretary General Nasrallah and Michel Aoun, head of the Christian Free Patriotic Movement party, signed a Memorandum of Agreement, creating the March 8 Alliance, which encouraged national dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon, supported consensual democracy, called for electoral law reform emphasizing proportional representation, encouraged positive relations with Syria and the Palestinians, promoted an improved national defense system in Lebanon, recognized the right of Lebanese control of Shebaa Farms, and proposed the return of Lebanese citizens imprisoned in Israel. Full English text of Aoun-Hezbollah agreement, Ya Libnan, 9 February 2006, available at http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2006/02/full_english_te.php. Nasrallah partially justified the capture of the two Israeli soldiers in July 2006 by citing the objective of releasing Lebanese prisoners in Israel and the Lebanese right to Shebaa Farms in the memorandum. See al-Jazeera Satellite Television, Interview with Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah by al-Jazeera Beirut Bureau Chief Ghassan Bin-Jiddu, 20 July 2006.

35. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, al-Manar Television, 14 August 2006.

36. Imad Salamey and Fred Pearson, “Hizbollah: A Proletarian Party with an Islamic Manifesto,” paper presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago, April 2006.

37. Saab, “Rethinking Hezbollah's Disarmament,” p. 98.

38. “Hezbollah Promises Lebanon Cooperation,” available at CNN.com. 26 May 2008.