Hezbollah is a militant fundamentalist Shiite organization in Lebanon that many see to be a terrorist group. They have strong ties to Iran, and oppose Israel. They seek to create an Iranian-style state in all of Lebanon, and wish to remove all non-Islamic influences. Shawn Teresa Flanigan and Mounan Abdel –Samad discuss Hezbollah’s motivation to provide social services, and how this in turn increases public support for them, even though their main objective is the destruction of Israel, in their article “Hezbollah’s Social Jihad: Nonprofits as Resistance Organization.
Flanigan and Abdel-Samad based their article on an empirical study of health and social service organizations in Lebanon. Through their interviews of the organizations employees, they found that the poor demonstrate their loyalty to Hezbollah, even though it may not be heartfelt. Basically, since Hezbollah controls their social and health services, both through controlling resources and the need to get a referral from a Hezbollah political leader, people are forced to show their support even if they do not agree with it. The group primarily serves the Shiites, who are known to be the least favorably treated group of people in Lebanon.
Hezbollah created this service organization, called the Social Unit. Under this unit, people can receive social, medical and educational services. One thing the authors pointed out was the services primarily benefit the Shiite population, and are not usually advertised to the general Lebanese population. However, after an Israeli attack, their services are covered a great deal by the media. Hezbollah seems to want to put themselves in a good light, and that they are a good organization that was attacked by Israel. Hezbollah maintains its power and influence by focusing on the Lebanese government’s neglect of the Shiite’s. As long as people are in need of services, and Hezbollah controls what these people need, the support for their group will only grow larger.
Hezbollah seems to have two faces. On one hand, they have provided services and built schools and hospitals for the low income Shiites in Lebanon. On the other hand, they are seen as an evil terrorist group that must be stopped. In Daniel Byman's article, "Should Hezbollah be Next?", he discusses that Hezbollah should be the next target on our war on terror. In the eyes of the United States, this group is nothing but a terrorist group that tries to mask its evil ways through positive movements such as offering schools, services and hospitals that the Lebanese government was not offering. Also, its political wing holds 12 seats in parliament. Because of these factors, the United States would have to accept the risks and consequences of taking action, and realize it would be difficult to find allies for another war. Hezbollah seems to want to stay away from conflict as well since they think any conflict with the U.S. will lose supporters. Byman feels if the U.S. can dismantle Hezbollah's militant activity, then they would only need to focus on their political efforts, minus the violence. They would still be a prominant force in the area, but it wouldn't be a threat to the rest of the world.He feels The U.S. needs to hit indirectly, and go through Iran or Syria.
Bilal Y Saab writes in his article, "Rethinking Hezbollah's Disarmament", that Hezbollah receives political support from Syria through their political influence in Lebanon. Syria also supplies them with arms. He further points out that the United States could recruit Syria to side with Israel, and cut off support for Hezbollah. He says Iran's generous religious, financial and military assistance has given them staying power. However, Iran's foreign policy agenda often undermines their Islamic project.Saab feels there are a few different ways to turn Hezbollah from a terrorist group to a normal political party. He says this can happen through two separate stages. The first involves Iran's cooperation in telling Hezbollah to end its armed struggle with Israel. Once this is done, Lebanese politicians will be able to negotiate. Many people believe it will be hard to destroy the group as a whole, but many believe they can focus their activities to the political institution, instead of the terrorist group.
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