Hezbollah Financial Scandal: From Mughniyeh to Madoff
Salah Ezzedine, a leading Lebanese businessman, turned himself in to Lebanese authorities last week when his large-scale Ponzi scheme collapsed and he declared bankruptcy. This is could be a major blow to Hezbollah, which has already had a very bad year. Ezzedine was closely tied to Hezbollah and several top Hezbollah leaders personally lost money […]
Can Hezbollah Launch Long-Range Terror Attacks?
In his new book Homeland Security, Assessing the First Five Years, former DHS secretary Michael Chertoff argues: Al-Qaeda and its network are our most serious immediate threat, they may not be our most serious long-term threat….[Hezbollah] has developed capabilities that Al-Qaeda can only dream of, including large quantities of missiles and highly sophisticated explosives. Chertoff’s […]
Aaron Mannes on Covert Radio disussing FARC, Georgia, and the VP and National Security
Covert Radio just posted a podcast where we discuss a number of topics. My perennials, FARC, Chavez, and Hezbollah, but also the implications of Russian moves in Georgia. We also spent a lot of time discussing my new hobby-horse, the Vice President and the national security process – for more see my other blog – […]
Assessing the Jerusalem Attack
The attack on a religious school in Jerusalem yesterday was the first major terror attack in that city since April 2006. There are several aspects of the attack that are worth noting. First it is a reminder that Palestinian terrorists remain capable, perhaps at a much lower level than at the height of the al-Aqsa […]
Proof of Mughniyah’s Evil
So I just found a terrific blog …Or Does it Explode? Inside the struggle for civil rights in the Middle East. Good stuff all around, but what particularly caught my eye was learning that Imad Mughniyeh’s son Jihad appears to be a Yankees fan. Bronx Bombers suddenly takes on a sinister meaning. I’ll leave it […]
After Mughniyah: Will Hezbollah Retaliate?
Long-time Hezbollah operations director Imad Mughniyah has been a seminal figure in the evolution of modern terrorism. He has links to Arafat and bin Laden, and is believed to have masterminded suicide vehicle bombings in Beirut, Argentina, and Saudi Arabia. His demise by car bomb in Damascus is just (and fitting). It is an open […]
Geopolitics of Gaza
In the coverage of the breach of the Gaza border, the focus has been on the increased threat to Israel. While there is little question that terrorists will acquire new capabilities and use them against Israel, their gaze may turn to a nearby but softer target. In his memoirs Knights under the Prophet’s Banner: Meditations […]
Ghosts of Iranian Terror Future
Although there are signs that Iran is tamping down violence in Iraq there are also worrying signs that Iran is ramping up for another round of international terror. Israeli intelligence has noted that Iranian Embassies are in Venezuela and Nicaragua have over 30 staffers each – far out of proportion to the scale of relations […]
Ghosts of Iranian Terror Past
The Buenos Aires bombings were a particularly bloody and long-range operation but it was not, an isolated instance of Iran combining diplomacy and terror. Hezbollah was founded by the Iranian Ambassador to Damascus, Ali Akbar Mohtashemi (google “Father of Hezbollah” and his name is the most frequent.) In 1985-6 a series of bombs in Paris […]
AMIA & the NIE
The NIE on Iran’s nuclear weapons program has sparked an ongoing controversy about the nature of the Iranian regime and its intentions. While the Iranian regime appears to have halted its nuclear weaponization program in 2003, it continues to research ballistic missiles and, most importantly, acquire fissile material (which is the hardest part of building […]