Commentary
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb
{
"authors": [
"Amal Saad-Ghorayeb"
],
"type": "other",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "MEP",
"programs": [
"Middle East"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Middle East",
"Iran",
"Israel",
"Lebanon",
"Syria"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Security",
"Military",
"Foreign Policy"
]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE
Other
In Their Own Words: Hizbollah's Strategy in the Current Confrontation
An in-depth look into the mindset of Hizbollah’s leadership, including their priorities, justifications for continued armament, and animosity towards the U.S. Through unprecedented access to high-ranking Hizbollah officials, including Hizbollah’s Deputy Secretary General.
Published on Jan 16, 2007
Source: Carnegie Endowment
United States Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte testified before Congress last week that an emboldened Hizbollah, backed by Syria and Iran and perceiving success in its war with Israel last summer, is a growing danger to the United States. Hizbollah’s influence in Lebanon and the surrounding region continues to hold major implications for Middle East policy – yet how widely understood are Hizbollah’s political ambitions and strategies among global audiences?
In this Carnegie Policy Outlook, In Their Own Words: Hizbollah’s Strategy in the Current Confrontation, visiting scholar Amal Saad-Ghorayeb provides an in-depth look into the mindset of Hizbollah’s leadership, including their priorities, justifications for continued armament, and animosity towards the United States. Through unprecedented access to high-ranking Hizbollah officials, including Hizbollah’s Deputy Secretary General, Saad-Ghorayeb summarizes numerous interviews to provide a unique glimpse into this complex organization’s goals and tactics.
Hizbollah views the current political crisis as an extension of the July war, waged against it by the U.S. and Israel. "By challenging the Siniora government Hizbollah sees itself as confronting the U.S.-Israeli plan to disarm the Resistance and redraw the face of Lebanon and the region.Hizbollah is determined to fight this political battle with the same zeal and determination that it displayed in the military war with Israel. Put simply, Hizbollah feels that if it loses this political conflict, it loses not only its political power and the type of Lebanon that it envisages, but also its arms," writes Saad-Ghorayeb.
Perhaps the most revealing insight into Hizbollah uncovered by the interviews is that the organization, despite its belligerence, is determined to ensure that the country does not plunge into civil war. Hizbollah considers national stability key to its mission of confronting Israel, and has encouraged its followers to refrain from being dragged into an internal conflict.
This is a web-only publication.
Click on the link above for the full text of this Carnegie publication.
About the Author
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb is a visiting scholar in the Carnegie Middle East Center. A leading expert on Hizbollah, she has written extensively about Lebanon’s Shiites and Lebanese politics.
About the Author
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb
Former Visiting Scholar
- Lebanese Shiites Express Political Identity
- The Paradox of Hezbollah's ArmsCommentary
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- Taking the Pulse: Is Canada Leading a Third Way?Commentary
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has twice inspired praise for standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump: at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Is Carney showing a third way better than the EU has in dealing with the Trump administration?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- Europe’s Self-Confidence ProblemCommentary
The EU’s responses to two recent incidents expose the gulf between European perceptions and capabilities. Unless the union can bridge that gap, it will never become a real geostrategic power.
Rym Momtaz
- Europe’s Overseas Countries and Territories as Geopolitical AssetsArticle
European states control several Overseas Countries and Territories around the world that carry strategic, economic, and environmental weight. As great powers challenge the rules-based order, defending them is a geopolitical imperative for Europe.
Marc Pierini
- Letter from the Editor: Europe Takes Two Steps Forward But One Step BackCommentary
As we close out another season of Strategic Europe, it is worth taking stock of the deep shifts underway.
Rym Momtaz
- Taking the Pulse: Are the EU’s Watered-Down Russia Sanctions Better than None?Commentary
The EU had to compromise to adopt a twenty-first sanctions package against Russia, exposing growing cracks in the union’s resolve. Is this latest, weaker round worth it to keep pressure on Moscow?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
