This week we read portions of statements by/interviews with Hasan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hizballah. We also discussed in class how from a paramilitary group, Hizballah has emerged as a popular political movement (that still maintains a military wing). One has to ask, then:
Is Hizballah a success story in Lebanon? And if so, how can its success by explained?
Although only time will tell whether Hizbullah can be considered a resounding success, I think that it is safe to say that it has at least partially reached its stated goals. The purpose of forming of Hizbullah in 1985 was to expel Israeli forces from Lebanon. Although this did not happen immediately today there aren't any Israeli troops in Lebanon. Their prestige received a boost after the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon for standing up to the superior of forces of Israel. They also have an extensive infrastructure in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa' Valley where they extend social services and education to impoverished Muslim population and in return receive wide spread support.
ReplyDeleteI think that the main reason for Hizbullah's success is that it capitalizes on Lebanese Muslims discontent with the status quo who want a more equitable distribution of power in a Christian dominated government in proportion to demographic changes that have occurred in the past century.
I would call Hizballah a success story because of the expansive support it receives in the region. While Hizballah sacrifices its legitimacy in the Western world to a great extent through its hard line rhetoric (“Death to America,” “Death to Israel”), it provides the Lebanese an outlet for anger towards Israel and the West. Also, Hizballah offers extensive social services, so while many Lebanese may not agree with its stance towards Israel, they like and benefit from the social services the group provides.
ReplyDeleteAs Mr. Muhanna said at the lecture, Hizballah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah is one of the most recognizable and popular politicians in the Arab world. However, Mr. Muhanna also mentioned that many Lebanese feel that if Hizballah were dismantled then Israel would not pose a threat to Lebanon. Unless an opposition group develops that can offer Lebanese a similar array of social services, without appearing to be a puppet of the West, Hizballah will continue to enjoy a great amount of support in the region.
Hezbollah is a sad success story. It seems as though Hezbollah was founded on tenants of prejudice and anger; now they have are an incredible force within Lebanon. I believe that they are a type of socialist movement, as its creation was a result of the Lebanese government not acknowledging the needs of the people to a standard that was deemed appropriate or efficient. I think Hezbollah has the potential to do a lot of good, seeing has they have support from neighboring Arab countries as well as from many people in Lebanon. Ultimately its a success story because of the impact they've created within the global community, but I don't necessarily think that everything they do has positive benefits. Clearly they have a bad track record with being involved in terrorism; furthermore, they are staunchly against Israel as a state. A definition of success is necessary in order to truly decide if Hezbollah is a success story because in some ways they are, and in others they aren't.
ReplyDeleteThe evolution of Hizballah from its beginnings in the 1980s as an armed resistance movement to Israel’s occupation of Lebanon to its social contributions and entrance into the political sphere in the 1990s qualifies as a success story in Lebanon. The evolution of Hizballah is a product of its growing popularity. Mr. Muhanna suggested that Hizballah’s ambiguity, not only as a group but as to its objects, enables them to appeal to a multitude of constituents gaining favor and support throughout the Arab world. Mr. Muhanna ,as well as, Nicole Noe, author of Voice of Hezbollah, claims that Hizballah has become the “new model” of resistance groups in the Middle East. The resistance movement takes credit for the Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in the 1980s because of its persistence in violent opposition and refusal to negotiations. This attitude has molded the idea that Israel can be defeated if one does not make concessions, which speaks greatly of Hizballah’s influence and its level of success.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Parker’s comment, Mr. Muhanna discussed the composition of the Lebanese parliament and the fifty percent/fifty percent quota of Muslim and Christian representatives in his lecture, “Adventures in Demography/Democracy: Electoral Reform in Contemporary Lebanon,” and the Lebanese fear of political reform despite the common knowledge that there is unequal representation. I agree that Hizballah gains success by gaining the support from the discontent Muslims who believe that they overpopulate, or eventually will outnumber, the Christians and therefore should be entitled to greater representation in the government. However, Nasrallah has claimed that being involved in the government gives Hezballah the opportunity to serve the community and its interests and is the least factional and partisan out of those involved in Lebanese politics (Noe 138). This leads to the question, to what degree will the Islamist group push for only Muslim interests? Could the pressure to satisfy a multitude of constituents cause Hezballah to fall from favor?
ReplyDeleteI think it is safe to say that Hizballah is a success story in the sense that they have developed from a socialist movement to a political party with strong support from the population of Lebanon. No doubt it is horrible to lay notice to the terrorist activities they used to be exclusively recognized with and may still have a hand in today but they are so much more than that. As Hasan Nasrallah said when explaining the growth of the society, it is “because apart from the resistance, solving people’s problems, reconstruction, education and culture are also high on our list” (Noe 137). One of their first goals at the start was to rid Lebanon of Israeli influence, which they have succeeded in significantly decreasing to an insignificant number. The leaders of Hizballah have made sound decisions to keep the group growing in strength and reputation, such as with the move into politics, which granted them more support. As Nasrallah stated, “Relationships with a parliamentarian, for example, would not have the same repercussions as a direct relationship with Hezbollah” (Noe 138). Hizballah’s success can be explained by them having the advantage of playing double roles; it is a part of the Lebanese government but also a separate entity from the state. In January of this year their candidate for prime minister gained the parliamentary nomination in Lebanon, a strong sign of success.
ReplyDeleteOf course Hizballah has been a success story in Lebanon. When Nasrallah and several others began the resistance movement, it did not even have a name and was quite small. Hizballah has gone from a small military faction to a large political and social movement supported by much of Lebanon and prominent Arab nations. Though Nasrallah claims Hizballah only has relations with Iran because the supreme leader of Islam resides in Iran, they still receive significant funding and arms from the Iranian government. In the “Voice of Hezbollah” interview, Nasrallah says the resistance was formed in reaction to the occupation of part of Lebanon. Now, even though Israel is out of Lebanon, Hizballah will always be a resistance so long as Israel exists. Hizballah has one of the greatest leaders the Arab world has seen, Nasrallah, who unifies Arabs everywhere. From claiming victory in 2000 when the IDF left south Lebanon to the accusation by Hizballah that the Israelis had a part in Hariri’s assassination, Hizballah keeps proving that they are a force to reckon with. Hizballah’s technology and infrastructure has grown immensely since its formation, showing that they can intercept Israeli defense technology. Unfortunately Hizballah has been a success story for the Lebanese and anti-Israeli supporters everywhere. Time will tell what Hizballah’s final solution is, and what will happen to them if Israel ever negotiates peace with the Palestinians.
ReplyDeleteI think it is reasonable to say that Hizballah is a success story. In 2000, Hizballah accomplished its goal of expelling Israeli forces from Lebanon; it is the first successful Arab resistance to Israel. Israel’s withdrawal helped deify Hizballah in the eyes of many people in Lebanon and other Arab nations. The causes of its success include widespread support, both from the local population (including many of Lebanon’s Shi’a Muslims as well as some of its Sunni Muslims and Christians) and from foreign countries (including some support from Syria and funding from Iran). Since its inception, Hizballah has blossomed from a primarily military organization into a broad social organization that provides many people with state-like functions, such as healthcare and education. In the 1990s Hizballah became involved in politics. As Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah talks about in his interview with Nida al-Watan, Hizballah is a Lebanese organization and its members are Lebanese, not foreigners; it is involved in Lebanese daily life and activities, and its military operations are just a part of its activities.
ReplyDeleteHizballah or as it is known in Iran: Hizb'u'llah/Hizbollah could be seen as a success story and is seen as such by many Arabs and Persians around the world. In Lebanon, Hizballah is quite a success story because it developed with a mission to take on Israel and it did just that.
ReplyDeleteThe military branch of Hizballah is pretty powerful compared to the military of other groups in the region: Hamas and PLO. But to state that Hizaballah is a success story anywhere outside of Lebanon is an exaggeration and just false.
Nasrallah in his interview that we read was very charismatic as usual and tried to present Hizaballah as the "David" vs. "Goliath." For Nasrallah,naturally Israel, Sunnis and "The West" are the Goliaths. He further stated that Hizballah's mission from its inception is the liberation of all Muslims, but mainly Shiias,from the yoke of imperialism, colonialism, oppression, corruption, Zionism, and anything else he deemed came from Israel and the West.
Hizballah has been successful within Lebanon, there is no doubt about that. It has taken firm root into Lebanese society and now has the most seats in the Lebanese government. So in a sense Hizballah is a success story but in a very limited sense. It did expel the IDF from southern Lebanon in 2000 but really the IDF could have stayed if it wanted to, so I don't see it as a win for Hizballah but as a stalemate. In 2006, launched rockets at Israeli targets, mostly killing innocent civilians. This is what it usually does and it uses Israel's past killings of Lebanese as a justification to kill innocent Israelis. This is absolutely unfair and unjust.
Hizballah then uses its social programs, its doctrine that it will fight against oppression, imperialism, and colonialism and its love for Lebanese society to assuage all of the blood is spills yearly, whether it be Israel or Arab blood.
Lastly, most governments, NGOs, and people around the world to see Hizballah not as a social movement with a para-military branch but see it as a pure terrorist organization with the agenda to destroy anyone or anything that gets in their way. Only 3 nations implicitly or explicitly support Hizballah with moral, military and monetary aid: Iran, Syria and of course Lebanon. Outside of those 3 there are no other nations that we no of that supports Hizballah. Meaning that if Hizballah wants to contnue to succeed within Lebanon and further, it needs to get the support of more than just 3 countries... 2 of which (Syria & Iran) are going to most likely have a complete change of regime in the next few years.
Hizballah, though condemned by many countries, has a great deal of support by many citizens in the middle east (most notably Lebanon, of course). This is because it has consistently been against the existence of Israel, and this consistency and their actions echoing their sentiments have allowed Hizballah to gain quite a following and therefore become somewhat of a success in Lebanon. The goals of Hizballah and organizations like it is to gain attention and through this attention and work to accomplish their main mission which was to get Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. Since that goal was accomplished, many leaders in Hizballah have called for the destruction of Israel. Now, Hizballah has grown and become a part of the political system, making it a legitimate political entity to some. Not all share this viewpoint, but the political clout of Hizballah in Lebanon cannot be denied, and with their growth in size and technology, unfortunately their growth in power has come as a result.
ReplyDeleteIn much of the Arab world, Hezbollah is seen as a legitimate resistance organization that has defended its land against an Israeli occupying force and has consistently stood up to the Israeli army.Hezbollah's success can be added to its already long list of achievements, and reminds Arab and Muslim audiences worldwide of the effectiveness of a steadfast resistance. In an Arab world used to humiliations and defeats, the list of achievements claimed by Hezbollah in the past decade is indeed noteworthy. The resistance movement was able to liberate most of Lebanon's territory from a two decade-long Israeli occupation, conducted a successful prisoner exchange in 2004, broke the invulnerability myth of the Israeli Defence Forces in the 2006 war, and managed to return all Lebanese prisoners held in Israel this past week. Hezbollah's charismatic leader has argued that his movement has never capitulated to Israeli demands, and thus never been defeated in its 25-year history – "the era of [Arab] defeats is over".
ReplyDeleteWhen judging Hizbollah based on their social services, social networks, military capability, and leadership skills, the answer is yes, Hizbollah is indeed a success story in Lebanon. Hizbollah has managed to win the hearts of the Lebanese people through all of the services they provide such as housing, food, refugee assistance, education, boarder defense, and health care. Even so, just because many Lebanese support Hizbollah does not make them successful. In fact, much Hizbollah’s support seems to be based more on nationalism rather than out-right support for the organization. The Lebanese are grateful for the services that Hizbollah provides Lebanon, which gives Hizbollah political power in the region; however, does the end justify the means? The violence and terrorist attacks carried out by Hizbollah do little to endear the Middle East, much less the rest of the world to Hizbollah, and by extension, Lebanon. Therefore, while Hizbollah may receive massive support at the moment, they will not have lasting success.
ReplyDeleteHezbollah was succeeded in the majority of their goals and are most Arabs in the region to have been the only entity capable of "defeating" Israel. As an organization they have displayed an extraordinary capacity to adapt to and overcome the military of the much more powerful Jewish state.
ReplyDeletePresenting enough of a threat to coerce the IDF into withdrawing from Southern Lebanon, has earned respect and support from governments other than their own. The political presence they command is astounding and their social programs continue to feed their image of righteousness.
These are all credits to the organization and its accomplishments, yet, as Shamim said, Hezbollah only officially receive support from Lebanon, Syria, and their own state. Whether they are a success story depends on how success is defined. In ridding the south of IDF occupation and gaining power in the legislature, they are triumphant. In defeating the Jewish nation entirely as Nasrallah has claimed his goal has been, they have not, and likely will not succeed out of their power alone.
Hezbollah has been successful in the Middle East because of the social services it provides. (Hospitals roads schools etc.) Through these establishments they were able to gain political influence and eventually penetrated the government. By pulling out of the coalition, the government became vulnerable, eventually collapsing. Hezbollah can be considered a government within government. This is because although it is technically still under the control of the state, Hezbollah keeps its own agenda. Through military, political and monetary backing (Iran gives money Syria gives arms), Hezbollah has created a name for itself and has found a way to elude government control.
ReplyDeleteHizballah is a success on all fronts. It has formed a successful and technologically advanced military, capable of even infiltrating Israel's technology. It has capitalized on the needs of the people of Lebanon, providing social welfare programs with opportunities for education and advancement that otherwise have been lacking, and there can be little argument that Hizballah's leader is charismatic, capable of uniting even the most diversified groups. These are all reasons that Israel and the West do not like Hizballah, but also reasons why it is faring well, with little chance of dispersing, at least with Nasrallah still as its head.
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