Understanding Hezbollah
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-08-20/understanding-hezbollah
The political and paramilitary group known as Hezbollah has been a major player in Lebanon and across the Middle East for 30 years. The U.S. considers it to be a terrorist organization. Now the group has extended its reach to this hemisphere. Iran and Syria are its key allies. With the Assad regime teetering in Damascus, and Iran bracing for a Mideast war, Hezbollah is at the center of attention as never before. Guest host Tom Gjelten and his guests talk about the military and political roles of Hezbollah in the Middle East and beyond - and why U.S. officials are watching the group so closely.
Guests
Matthew Levitt
senior fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, and author of a forthcoming book tentatively titled "Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God."
Kim Ghattas
State Department correspondent for the BBC; author of a forthcoming book on Hillary Clinton during her years as Secretary of State.
Shibley Telhami
Anwar Sadat professor for peace and development at the University of Maryland, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of the forthcoming book, "The Peace Puzzle: America's Quest for Arab-Israeli Peace 1989-2011."
Paul Salem
director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon.
Comments
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Hezbollah has tens of thousands of rockets and missiles aimed at Israeli civilians -- and its leaders have many times sworn to destroy Israel. Such an organization will always be a source of terror, instability and murder throughout the world until it is starved of resources, isolated and discredited. The Lebanese people must realize that threatening to destroy a neighboring state is not a way to ensure a safe and prosperous future.
No one else stands up against Israel's continued illegal activities except Hezbollah. What is wrong with that?
Interesting how calmly the host said an Israeli U.S. attack on Iran. So relaxed so confident that they will happen. Creepy
if Israel strikes Iran they have every right to strike back.
They're engaged in terrorism...that's what's wrong with that!
when will your guest talk about what Hezbollah wants
please talk about Israel's land mines in southern lebanon
Interesting, why wasnt the Caller from Ann Arbor's question answered fully. He didnt give an answer, he just ranted off some words and moved on. Its obvious that these guests were one sided and wanted nothing to do with hearing out the other side. Let me ask you this, If Mexico had land mines and attacked the U.S continuously for 35 years, even occupying it for 20 years and then the U.S finally got it back, would the U.S be terrorist? I dont think this show did anything for informing the people. Your show obviously were scared to mention anything about Israel. Continuously saying that they are a terrorist group. Bring up both sides, and then lets debate or have someone come to their own judgement as whether they are as evil as they are portrayed. I love your show, but todays topic was very once sided.
When will DR host a show called "Understanding Israeli Nuclear Coercion"?
Or is that too inside baseball?
Preach on Kathleen.
The reason Hezbollah and groups like it exist is because the world is not a fair place. These groups are a symptom, not the disease. If you cure the problems, then armed groups like this would have no function, and would soon loose support. It's not like a group of muslims got together and said, "hey, I'm bored, let's terrorize our neighbor to the south". They are in fact responding to what they percieve as a threat from Israel. Understanding what that threat is, real or perceived, is the key to solving the problems. When a man can't even support his own family, feed and clothe them, provide for their security, and send his children to school to become better educated and have a better standard of life; then for some, "terrorism" becomes a justifyable avocation. What's the other choice if you don't fight back? Roll over and watch your family suffer? And where do you find the most "unrest" in the world? It's in places where there are few natural resources and the common man is unable to make a living and feed his family. Things we take for granted here in the U.S.! Imagine a future where your children will not prosper, what would you do to change that? A little understanding will go a long way to solving the problems. But first we have to "care"!
Sounds like they are the defenders of the discriminated minority shias in lebanon. And the defenders of the arab palestinians. It is not so much that they are pro-iran or that they are their proxys but that they will take support from them in their struggle against being oppressed by either lebanon or to help oppressed palestinians.Now that the people have risen up against assad-i don't believe hezbollah supports assad any more thopugh of course in the past they accepted material support from him. The shia's are the" N's" of the arab world-treated like second class citizens. Even christians and other progressive arabs who oppose mistreating shias-support them. They are freedom fighters. This program is disinformation ,more;beware- the latest- boogey man -terrorist- propaganda.They are freedom fighters on behalf of the people.
One of your callers elaborated on the Palestinian refuge camps in the neighboring countries. My question is who caused the Palestinians to become refuges in the first place? Instead of focussing on the outcome, why don't we focus on the reason why they were driven out of their own land for over 60 years to live in such camps! Although this show is one of my favorites, today it was one sided. It's unfair not to give the other side a chance for their argument. I hope you'd take this advice into consideration. Thanks!
As an Englishman living in Indiana, every 4th of July we are reminded of the struggle that America took to break away from Britain. Now we are friends and closest of allies. Though Britain never negotiates with terrorist organisations even with the IRA the Queen shook Martin McGuinness's hand after so much conflict a wonderful gesture of intended peace. That was an easy understanding of a fight for separation from Britain. What is the end game for Hezbollah do we even know and in knowing can we tolerate their intent under any conditions?
Kathleen (and others) -in fairness- are the host and/or the guests supposed to be any less opinionated and single-minded than you clearly are? In a perfect world, the debate should be fair and even-handed, a free exchange of ideas and truth. But unfortunately, this conflict is thousands of years old, and neither side, I believe, has been interested in truth for many years, if not decades.
A complete fluff piece NPR. Hezbollah is more than just raining rockets on Israeli civilians as an "act of *resistance* (somehow attacking civilians is okay) but they have actually been terrorizing their own population and other Arab states for a long time! The native Lebanese survivor of a Hezbollah assassination attempt wrote an article detailing the internal and regional terror attacks on non-Israeli targets that this terror group has been active in, including killing his own father because they did not like the *books* the man published?!?! The article is called 'The EU Does Not Consider Hezbollah a Terrorist Group?' Anyone actually interested in a real factual analysis from a native who lived their entire life in Lebanon and who is pro-democracy should have a read. http://mideastobserver.com/v/5941?fb_action_ids=10151354459572388