• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "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

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.

Link Copied
By Amal Saad-Ghorayeb
Published on Jan 16, 2007
Program mobile hero image

Program

Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

Learn More

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

    Recent Work

  • Commentary
    Lebanese Shiites Express Political Identity

      Amal Saad-Ghorayeb

  • Commentary
    The Paradox of Hezbollah's Arms

      Amal Saad-Ghorayeb

Amal Saad-Ghorayeb
Former Visiting Scholar
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb
Political ReformSecurityMilitaryForeign PolicyMiddle EastIranIsraelLebanonSyria

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 Endowment for International Peace

  • Army personnel stand guard after a pro-monarchy protest turns violent in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 28, 2025.
    Article
    The Shadow of the Military in Modern South Asia

    Military rule is now a defining political factor in South Asia. Here’s how analysts can understand and account for it.

      Paul Staniland

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Will Hungary’s New Leader Really Change EU Policy on Russia and Ukraine?

    Orbán created an image for himself as virtually the only opponent of aid to Ukraine in the entire EU. But in reality, he was simply willing to use his veto to absorb all the backlash, allowing other opponents to remain in the shadows.

      Maksim Samorukov

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Realism and the Lebanon-Israel Talks

    Beirut’s desire to break free from Iranian hegemony may push it into a situation where it has to accept Israel’s hegemony.  

      Michael Young

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    How to Join the EU in Three Easy Steps

    Montenegro and Albania are frontrunners for EU enlargement in the Western Balkans, but they can’t just sit back and wait. To meet their 2030 accession ambitions, they must make a strong positive case.

      Dimitar Bechev, Iliriana Gjoni

  • Article
    India’s Oil Security Strategy: Structural Vulnerabilities and Strategic Choices

    This piece argues that the present Indian strategy, based on opportunistic diversification and utilization of limited strategic reserves, remains inadequate when confronting supply disruptions. It evaluates India’s options in the short, medium, and long terms.

      Vrinda Sahai

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600Fax: 202 483 1840
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.