" What is the current situation? The United Nations brokered a ceasefire (Security council Resolution 1701), and 15,000 Lebanese troops have moved into south Lebanon to keep the peace. Soon, according to an article in the journal Middle East (Blanche 2006) the UN will send 15,000 troops to back up the Lebanese forces
The bottom line is that both sides dislike each other vehemently and the borders between Israel and Lebanon have seen near-constant incidents of violence over the years. In the most recent violent conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah - the one-time "terrorist" organization that recently won political control over Palestine in democratic election - was launched "almost accidentally," according to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (Curtiss, 2006)
" FOUR: NATIONAL INTERESTS and GOALS: Following 34 days of fighting in Lebanon, an estimated 1,200 Lebanese (most of them civilians) were killed, while some 117 Israeli soldiers were killed and 41 Israeli civilians died from Hezbollah rocket attacks. The goal of Israeli was to "eliminate Hezbollah," according to Rachelle Marshall writing in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (Marshall, 2006)
.in a vain attempt to prevent the birth of the Jewish nation on land the Arabs felt belonged to them" (Lee, 2006)
.in a vain attempt to prevent the birth of the Jewish nation on land the Arabs felt belonged to them" (Lee, 2006)
Banners touting Hezbollah's 'divine victory' quickly decorated the disaster areas of southern Lebanon, and billboards denounced 'the savage destruction inflicted by the Zionists and the Americans'" (2006, 31). The ceasefire that was negotiated, though, was due to the UN's intervention, but this did not stop Hezbollah's official media outlets from "continuing to air triumphant anthems and interviews with the families of the victims showing their total allegiance to the group and their readiness to sacrifice anything, including their own children, for the resistance" (El Rafei, 2006, 32)
The recent election of a Muslim Brotherhood member to the presidency of Egypt is reflective of this larger overall trend that has emerged post-Arab Spring, and lends additional credibility to the view that Hezbollah is a legitimate political organization with valid goals and objectives. By very sharp contrast, a Senior Fellow at RAND Corporation's Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, recently characterized Hezbollah as an "Iranian terrorist proxy organization" (Lambeth, 2012, 82)
Given these divergent views, an examination of Hezbollah's leadership, funding source and operational capabilities can provide some further insights into the organization's real purpose and these issues are discussed further below. Hezbollah's Leadership, Funding and Capabilities In reality, Hezbollah was just one of several political organizations that emerged in Lebanon following its independence, and a relative latecomer as well (Norton, 2009)
Hezbollah is using a training base established by Iran in northern Nicaragua near the border with Honduras. Tehran is funding and supplying the training base" (Rubin, 2012, 2)
Prior to Hezbollah's establishment in 1982, there had already been a number of secular parties formed in Lebanon, as well as the reformist Amal movement, which continue to enjoy significant membership; in fact, Hussein Nasrallah, brother to Hasan Nasrallah, a founder of Hezbollah and its secretary-general, remains a life member in the Amal organization (Norton, 2009). Clearly, membership in Hezbollah does not forego membership in other organizations that have similar goals, and further support for Hezbollah was gained form historically marginalized Lebanese Shi'a who personally experienced the Israeli incursions into their country, as well as the widespread view that Amal and the other organizations were incapable of effective resistance (Sorenson, 2012)
According to Warah, "The West African Shi'ite Lebanese community was sympathetic to Hezbollah and often served as a link between rebels and Al Qaeda. [However], much of the evidence linking West Africa's Lebanese community to global terror networks has been primarily anecdotal and circumstantial" (Warah, 2004, 21)
In this regard, the ambassador stressed that, "[Hezbollah] doesn't give a hoot about the way of life in this country. Its agenda is very localized, and its practices are indicative of this" (Ziad, 2003, 72)
Aside the already mentioned effects, it is also necessary to point out that the national income in a terrorism-affected country is declining and even as peace is established, the GDP growth rates will be reduced. Then, employment rates increase, job stability decreases and inflation increases; national currencies suffer devaluations relative to other currencies, all to reveal growing levels of economic instability, political incapability to restore peace and social turmoil (Morag, 2006)
Finally, international trade is significantly affected, as comparative studies have shown that two consecutive quarters of increased levels of terrorist activity will reduce the amount of exports in the gross domestic product by 1.5% (Persitz)
For example, one West African leader, Alhaji Kromah, reestablished the Mandingo trading links with Sierra Leone, from which his ethnic group had been excluded by officials in March 1991. Likewise, Charles Taylor was equally keen to regain control of western Liberia because he had been denied funds from his illicit diamond trade in Sierra Leone (Adebajo, 2002)
There are shipping and air transport services willing and able to transport the weapons to warlords who are destabilizing much of West Africa. The warlords trade diamonds for guns, and the arms brokers and transporters in turn launder the diamonds with brokers in Antwerp and deposit the money in Swiss banks" (Milward & Raab, 2003, p
In fact, Middle Eastern traders were even in place before the establishment of the British-owned Sierra Leone Selection Trust; this organization was granted exclusive diamond mining and prospecting rights for the entire country in 1935; thereafter -- until 1956, when an alluvial diamond mining arrangement was authorized -- it was illegal for anyone not working for the Trust to deal in any way with diamonds. Nevertheless, the illegal trade in diamonds continued and even increased, with numerous Lebanese traders eventually settling in Kono and providing the funds for Africans to mine and sell their diamonds to them alone (Warah, 2004)
In fact, according to Abboud, "[Hezbollah] doesn't give a hoot about the way of life in this country. Its agenda is very localized, and its practices are indicative of this" (Ziad, 2003, p