Al-Qaida Seen Courting Hezbollah

July 27, 2002
By CHRISTOPHER NEWTON

WASHINGTON (AP) - Some low-level al-Qaida members are building relationships with members of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese group, looking to link up with new comrades in terror now that al-Qaida's leaders have gone into hiding, U.S. officials say.

The development has raised U.S. misgivings about greater cooperation between the world's two most sophisticated Islamic terror networks. The fervor and international sophistication of al-Qaida members, coupled with the resources, organization and state backing of Hezbollah, would constitute a volatile mix, terrorism experts said.

U.S. intelligence agencies indicate that "Al-Qaida (operatives), because they have been disrupted, are looking for places to go for help with various support functions," a senior law enforcement official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

So far, known contacts between Hezbollah and al-Qaida are neither high-level nor extensive, U.S. officials said. Officials say Hezbollah has plenty of reasons, both ideological and practical, to spurn any formal advances from al-Qaida's leaders.

"Hezbollah has a very extensive support network, not only in the Mideast but in Europe and in the United States," the law enforcement official said.

U.S. authorities have evidence suggesting Hezbollah members have shared intelligence on American effort to track terrorists in certain cities and provided some financial assistance, a law enforcement official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

That conclusion isn't universally accepted throughout the U.S. government, which underscores the difficulty of gathering solid intelligence on the two terrorist groups.

Other U.S. counterterrorism officials told The Associated Press that while they have observed increased contacts and relationship-building among members of al-Qaida and Hezbollah, they haven't seen credible evidence of financial or operational collaboration.

FBI counterterror agents believe many al-Qaida members are desperate for resources because of U.S. efforts to reduce money available to the organization.

U.S. officials have denied news reports that al-Qaida leaders attended a meeting of Hezbollah officials in Lebanon in March. Yet, Lebanon has been the site of many of the low-level al-Qaida contacts with Hezbollah that U.S. officials have learned about, one U.S. counterterrorism official said.

One senior al-Qaida leader, Abu Musab Zarqawi, fled Afghanistan for Iran, a supporter of Hezbollah, after the United States began bombing Afghanistan but stayed only briefly, U.S. intelligence officials say. There are no signs that Iran's government has sanctioned Hezbollah recruitment of al-Qaida castoffs.

Hezbollah also receives support from Syria and Lebanon, both of which have aided the U.S. war on al-Qaida, and U.S. officials believe Hezbollah's relationship with both countries could become threatened if it were to begin working extensively with Osama bin Laden's group.

"Hezbollah leaders understand that al-Qaida is too hot to touch right now," said Janice Paine, a terrorism expert at Harvard University. "It's very easy for Hezbollah leaders to imagine the bombs that are falling on al-Qaida could be falling on them if they get connected to any terrorism in the United States.

"A connection between the groups would also undo the work that some Hezbollah leaders have done to make the group seem more moderate," Paine said.

Hezbollah's leaders are known to have been surprised by the Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center.

Al-Qaida and Hezbollah would seem unlikely partners historically, because Al-Qaida is run by Sunni Muslims, Hezbollah by Shiites. Theological differences between these two major branches of Islam apparently have prevented an alliance thus far.

Hezbollah was formed in 1982 with Iranian backing during Israel's invasion of Lebanon. The group is linked to the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 that killed 241 Americans, bombings of two U.S. embassy buildings and kidnappings of more than 50 foreigners.

Most of its recent operations have been directed at Israel rather than the United States.

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