Hezbollah

How Hezbollah wins by losing

by Paul Woodward 09.17.2009

How Hezbollah wins by losing By Mohamad Bazzi, Foreign Affairs, September 11, 2009 Since the June 7 Lebanese parliamentary elections, an alluring but simplistic narrative has emerged in the West: because Hezbollah and its allies were defeated at the polls, the militant group would lose some of its luster and a pro-American political coalition would [...]

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Hariri says Hizbollah will be included in united front against Israel

by Paul Woodward 08.27.2009

Hariri says Hizbollah will be included in united front against Israel By Mitchell Prothero, The National, August 26, 2009 Lebanon needs a unity government that includes a role for the Islamic resistance movement Hizbollah to effectively ward off Israeli aggression, according to the incoming prime minister-designate, Saad Hariri. “I want to assure the Israeli enemy [...]

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Israel’s threats to Lebanon only boost Hezbollah

by Paul Woodward 08.12.2009

Israel’s threats to Lebanon only boost Hezbollah By Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz, August 11, 2009 Which Lebanon exactly does Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold responsible for every Hezbollah action? Two months following the elections, Lebanon still has no government. The prime minister-designate, Sa’ad Hariri, just returned on Monday from a vacation in the south of France, [...]

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NEWS & EDITOR’S COMMENT: Iran’s plausible denials

by Paul Woodward 05.06.2008

Doubting the evidence against Iran By Mark Kukis and Abigail Hauslohner, Time, May 5, 2008 American circles in Baghdad and Washington are probably not pleased with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s plan for a special panel to investigate allegations of Iranian interference in Iraq. Many U.S. officials are already convinced of the worst and, for [...]

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NEWS, ANALYSIS, INTERVIEW & EDITOR’S COMMENT: Foreign interference

by Paul Woodward 05.05.2008

Hezbollah trains Iraqis in Iran, Pentagon’s New York Times spokesman says By Michael R Gordon, New York Times, May 5, 2008 Militants from the Lebanese group Hezbollah have been training Iraqi militia fighters at a camp near Tehran, according to American interrogation reports that the United States has supplied to the Iraqi government. An American [...]

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NEWS: Talking to terrorists

by Paul Woodward 03.15.2008

Terror talks: would contacting al-Qaida be a step too far? By Ian Black, The Guardian, March 15, 2008 [Jonathan Powell was Tony Blair's chief of staff for 12 years] Jonathan Powell’s candid reflections on talking to terrorists in his book revealing an insider’s view of the Northern Ireland peace process will ring true to anyone [...]

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GUEST CONTRIBUTOR – John Robertson: The bullies converge

by Paul Woodward 03.03.2008

The bullies converge By John Robertson, War in Context, March 3, 2008 28 and 29 February: the US parks the USS Cole off the shore of Lebanon. Uh-oh. 1 March: Israeli forces launch a major operation into Gaza, killing as many as 60 Palestinians, many of them civilians and children. Senators Clinton, McCain, and Obama [...]

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GUEST CONTRIBUTOR – Roger Morris: America’s shadow in the Middle East

by Paul Woodward 02.24.2008

A death in Damascus By Roger Morris, War in Context, February 24, 2008 It was another car bomb in the Middle East, the victim this time one of those “notorious terrorists” seemingly generic to the landscape. Hezbollah’s Imad Mughniyeh died February 12 in Damascus as he lived most of his forty-five years, in that world [...]

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NEWS & OPINION: Winograd; Jerusalem; Palestinian talks

by Paul Woodward 01.31.2008

Olmert: His own shlemiel, or Bush’s? By Tony Karon, Rootless Cosmopolitan, January 31, 2008 While Israel’s Winograd Commission has certainly pulled no punches in excoriating the Israeli military and political leadership for their botched war in Lebanon last summer, there appears to be a massive lacuna in its conclusions. (I’m not even going to get [...]

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NEWS ROUNDUP: January 20

by Paul Woodward 01.20.2008

Israel test-fires ballistic missile after Iran warning Israel successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile on Thursday, a senior official told AFP, days after warning “all options” were open to prevent archfoe Iran from obtaining atomic weapons. U.S. plays down chance of Iran resolution soon The United States on Friday played down the chance of major [...]

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NEWS & OPINION: Mismeasuring regional dynamics

by Paul Woodward 01.04.2008

Why U.S. strategy on Iran is crumbling By Marc Lynch, Christian Science Monitor, January 4, 2008 ‘Everywhere you turn, it is the policy of Iran to foment instability and chaos,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Gulf dignitaries in Bahrain last month. But in reality, everywhere you turn, from Qatar to Saudi Arabia to Egypt, you [...]

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NEWS: Israel’s new intelligence estimate – mixed threats

by Paul Woodward 12.16.2007

Exclusive: Annual Israeli Intelligence Estimate By Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynet, December 16, 2007 Deep pessimism alongside cautious optimism- those are the two key principles that emerge from this year’s Annual Israeli Intelligence Estimate. The report will be presented to the security cabinet in several days time by IDF Intelligence Chief Major-General Amos Yadlin, but the highlights [...]

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NEWS: North Korea may have aided Hezbollah

by Paul Woodward 12.13.2007

North Korea may have aided Hezbollah: U.S. report By Arshad Mohammed, Reuters, December 13, 2007 North Korea may have given arms to Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers, according to a report compiled for Congress that could complicate U.S. plans to drop Pyongyang from its terrorism blacklist. The report obtained on Wednesday by Reuters [...]

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NEWS & OPINION: Rising fear in Lebanon

by Paul Woodward 11.25.2007

Darkness falls on the Middle East By Robert Fisk, The Independent, November 24, 2007 It’s difficult to describe what it’s like to be in a country that sits on plate glass. It is impossible to be certain if the glass will break. When a constitution breaks – as it is beginning to break in Lebanon [...]

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NEWS: Lebanon’s political limbo

by Paul Woodward 11.23.2007

Lebanese fail to elect president BBC News, November 23, 2007 Lebanese MPs have failed to convene to elect a new president as the term of the incumbent, Emile Lahoud, expires. Members of the Western-backed majority had hoped to hold a vote, but the pro-Syrian opposition did not allow the session to achieve the quorum needed. [...]

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OPINION: Lebanon on the brink

by Paul Woodward 11.21.2007

A powder keg in Lebanon By Milton Viorst, Los Angeles Times, November 21, 2007 While the eyes of the world are focused on the fading prospects of ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the upcoming meeting in Annapolis, Md., an electoral deadlock in Lebanon grinds inexorably to a climax, threatening to upset an 18-year factional truce [...]

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NEWS: Time running out for picking a president

by Paul Woodward 11.20.2007

What happens next in Lebanon is anyone’s guess By Michael Bluhm, Daily Star, November 21, 2007 Despite frantic international mediation and declarations of a desire for consensus from both of Lebanon’s feuding political camps, it remains impossible to say what will happen in the few days remaining before the country risks sliding into a constitutional [...]

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NEWS: Lebanon’s presidential election deadline looms

by Paul Woodward 11.17.2007

As presidential vote nears, Beirut’s residents sense they won’t be the winners By Nada Bakri, New York Times, November 17, 2007 Mireille Adas took part in a march through downtown Beirut this week, demanding that Hezbollah end its yearlong occupation of the city’s commercial center. Her jewelry shop, steps away from the organization’s tent camp, [...]

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NEWS: Al-Qaeda cell tried to assassinate Nasrallah

by Paul Woodward 11.16.2007

Report: Al-Qaeda planned hit on Hizbullah chief By Roee Nahmias, Ynet, November 15, 2007 An al-Qaeda cell tried to assassinate Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah last summer, the Lebanese, Arab-language newspaper As-Safir reported Thursday. According to the report, the Lebanese security services are currently conducting a vast investigation into al-Qaeda’s activities in Lebanon. Several al-Qaeda [...]

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NEWS & EDITOR’S COMMENT: Not a counterintelligence case?

by Paul Woodward 11.15.2007

How big a role did disgraced CIA officer have? By Andrea Mitchell and Robert Windrem, NBC News, November 14, 2007 There’s new information about the young Lebanese woman who pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges she lied about her background to get jobs at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency. Current and former [...]

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ANALYSIS: Is Israel about to attack Hezbollah?

by Paul Woodward 11.05.2007

Is Israel about to attack Hizballah? By Nicholas Blanford, Time, November 4, 2007 Is Israel laying the ground for pre-emptive air strikes against targets belonging to the militant Shi’ite group Hizballah in Lebanon? Tensions have been building along the Lebanon-Israel border in recent days. The Israeli army was engaged last week in large-scale military exercises [...]

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OPINION: Engaging Hamas and Hezbollah

by Paul Woodward 11.01.2007

Engaging Hamas and Hezbollah By Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, October 29, 2007 Nothing could be easier in the present atmosphere than to accuse anyone who calls for recognition of and dialogue with Hamas, Hezbollah and other Islamist movements of being closet supporters of reactionary “extremism” or naive fellow travelers of “terrorists.” This tactic is [...]

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NEWS: Hezbollah warns U.S. not to set up base

by Paul Woodward 10.22.2007

Hezbollah warns U.S. not to set up base AP, October 22, 2007 Hezbollah’s deputy leader warned the U.S. on Sunday against setting up a military base in Lebanon, saying the guerrilla group would consider such a move “a hostile act.” Sheik Naim Kassem’s warning came days after a senior Pentagon official said the U.S. military [...]

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NEWS: Hezbollah slams U.S. call for ‘partnership’ with Lebanon army

by Paul Woodward 10.20.2007

Hezbollah slams U.S. call for ‘partnership’ with Lebanon army AP, October 19, 2007 Hezbollah on Friday denounced a senior Pentagon official’s call for a U.S. strategic partnership with Lebanon’s army, saying American attempts to boost military ties were a ploy for domination and could turn the country into another Iraq. Washington has dramatically increased military [...]

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