Hezbollah’s Threat to the U.S. and Israel
From the bombing of the United States Embassy and the Marine barracks in Beirut in the 1980s, to the attacks against the Israeli embassy and the AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) Jewish community center in Argentina in the 1990s, to the targeting of Israeli tourists by its operatives in Bulgaria, Cyprus and (twelve days ago) Thailand, Hezbollah’s fingerprints are on terror attacks and attempted attacks across the globe.
The international community has responded. The State Department designated Hezbollah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization when the label was established under the U.S. Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. Last year, the European Union designated the so-called military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. That same year, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council pronounced Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Designations such as these authorize restrictions on funding as well as facilitate arrests and transnational counter-terrorism cooperation.
However, in addition to receiving funds for terrorist operations from Iran and Syria, Hezbollah amasses assets through a variety of illicit channels, including money laundering, drug smuggling, and trading of conflict diamonds. Hezbollah’s activities warrant its consideration as both a foreign narcotics trafficker and a transnational criminal organization.
Hezbollah International Financial Prevention Act
House (H.R. 4411):
Will you co-sponsor the Hezbollah International Financial Prevention Act which targets Hezbollah’s drug trafficking and public relations arm?
Senate (S. 2329):
Will you co-sponsor the Hezbollah International Financial Prevention Act which targets Hezbollah’s drug trafficking and public relations arm?