U.S. Sees Hezbollah as Next al-Qaida
No longer viewed only as local problem tied to Arab-Israeli conflict

U.S. Sees Hezbollah as Next al-Qaida  
No longer viewed only as local problem tied to Arab-Israeli conflict

July 11, 2002

Within a space of a few months, the Bush administration has changed its assessment on Hezbollah nearly 180 degrees.

Before Sept. 11, the United States viewed Hezbollah as a local problem connected to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Today, however, the administration and congressional leaders see Hezbollah as the biggest insurgency threat after al-Qaida.

What led to the change was new intelligence data supplied by Israel, Jordan and Germany that detailed Hezbollah's strategy post-Sept. 11. Simply put, Hezbollah is an arm of Iran meant to dominate the Middle East and replace al-Qaida as the next global terrorist group.

This strategy was discussed in a June 1 meeting in Tehran. Several secret meetings took place under the auspices of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps that included Hezbollah leaders and allies in such groups as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.

The lineup for the meeting included PFLP-GC chief Ahmed Jibril, Islamic Jihad's Ramadan Shallah, Hamas's Imad Alami, Hezbollah's Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah and the movement's foreign operations chief Imad Mughniyeh. But there was an unexpected addition to the meeting -- that of an unidentified senior al-Qaida member.

The Iranians made the following offer to the group. Tehran would be willing to be their new sponsor and invest $150 million in a worldwide terror campaign. The condition was full coordination with Tehran and between the terrorist groups. Those who agreed would obtain safe haven, money and weapons, such as short-range rockets that can reach much of Israel from neighboring Lebanon or Jordan.

The meeting set Jordan in a panic. A message from the Hashemite kingdom urged Washington to forget Iraq and focus on expelling Hezbollah from Lebanon.

The Jordanian message was effective. Last week, Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Bob Graham toured the Middle East and relayed Washington's warning to Lebanon and Syria that Hezbollah will become a target.

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