Hezbollah's Billion Petrodollars
By: Walid Phares
Posted: 01/11/2008
A few weeks ago, articles published around the world reported that Hezbollah is
undergoing two major changes. Both portend greater violence from the
Iranian-sponsored global terrorist network.
The first change is a shift in leadership responsibilities. A report published
initially in the Saudi owned Sharq al Awsat said the office of Ayatollah
Khomenei appointed deputy secretary general Sheikh Naim Qassim as the new
supreme commander of Hezbollah forces and the personal representative of the
Ayatollah in Lebanon. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, according to this report remains
as secretary general of the organization. Sources said this change in control
and command is because of "differences in opinions" between Narsrallah and
Qassim.
The Hezbollah media arm rushed to deny the veracity of this shift. But observers
with direct knowledge of the organization's inside structure said Khamenei
indeed ordered changes in Hezbollah's structures, but not because of differences
between its leaders. They said it was in preparation for a potential massive
move by Hezbollah to seize more power in Lebanon and before a possible clash
with the Lebanese Government and the United Nations over the disarmament
process.
Sources believe the assassination of Brigadier General Francois Hajj, director
of operations in the Lebanese Army was another preemptive measure ordered by the
Pasdaran command in Lebanon. Hajj was slated to become the next commander of the
Lebanese Army. The latter was to deploy across Lebanon and eventually begin the
collection of weapons. Hence, believe the observers, a Syro-Iranian order was
issued to preempt and eliminate a man who could have become the military
commander to force Hezbollah to disarm. This would have been compared to the al
Qaeda elimination of Masoud Shah in September 2001 just before the 9/11 strikes.
Hence, the concerns that the assassination and the reshuffling within the
organization may be a prelude to dramatic move by the Iranian funded Terror
group. Which lead to the other important information revealed by al Shaq al
Awsat and published in the leading Lebanese Newspaper al Nahar.
The second major change according to these reports Hezbollah is a huge increase
in annual budget funded by Tehran. Hezbollah’s funding was elevated from $400
million US to $1 billion. This ballistic leap would enable the organization to
crush any opponent inside Lebanon and engage in worldwide operations against
Western Democracies and Arab moderates. According to experts in Lebanon, the
$400 millions figure was enough to pay for hundreds of social centers and
thousands of salaries enough to insure a full control over the Shia community,
its representatives in Parliament and buy significant influence inside the
Sunni, Druze and particularly Christian community. One hundred million dollars
alone, could pay for the activities of movements opposed to the Cedars
Revolution and the democratically elected Government of Seniora.
Hezbollah obtained support in the Christian districts and launched media outlets
across the country. Another thirty millions can put enormous pressures on
soldiers and officers of the various sectors of defense and security. In return
the Government branches and the military have been deprived from solid financial
support coming from outside the country. Those who rose against the Syrian
occupation were mostly from the deprived and oppressed segments of civil
society. And those who dared opposing Hezbollah's domination of the country
lacked the basic means of NGOs. The confrontation was totally unbalanced. Iran
was pouring 400 millions of Petrodollars to roll back the Cedars Revolution
while the latter was highly praised overseas but wasn't a recipient of freedom
funds.
But if $400 million can buy Hezbollah a magic place under Lebanon's sun, what
would a $1 billion do? Observers in Lebanon say: "anything anywhere." Indeed the
Moguls of the so-called "resistance" have been able to create alternative TV and
radio stations, launch multiple dailies, pay for a nonstop sit-in across
Downtown Beirut, and more importantly leap to hyper international power. Over
the past year the Iranian-funded hydra is said to have hired PR companies from
Beirut to major capitals to wage the mother of all wars of ideas not just
against the vulnerable Cedars Revolution in Lebanon but also in defense of
Ahmedinijad's nuclear strategy. Indeed, stories filed out of Tehran can't be
credible. But reports and analysis sprayed from dozens of apparently neutral web
sites or forwarded from credible journalistic sources can do devastation in the
West. And what better launching pad than Beirut, cultural capital of the Arab
world, to use? All what the Iranian funded organization has to do is to "double"
if not "triple" the income of any person of interest in any sector of choice:
media, academia, military, consulting, intelligence, etc. both in Lebanon but
also around the world, including if needed in the United States.
One Billion dollars spent on Hezbollah in Lebanon can have ripple effects as far
as Detroit and Argentina. There is no native force in Lebanon that can match
this tidal wave nor even one tenth of it. This is Iran's Petro power deployed on
the Eastern Mediterranean not a local social movement building orphanages. A
month ago as I was participating in a cross fire program on al Jazeera facing
off with a coordinator of Iranian propaganda in the Arab world, I was asked why
the US maintains a Navy in the Middle East. "Where are Iran's fleets," he asked.
I replied that the Iranian regime maintains land fleets. "Hezbollah's 30,000
rockets and its millions of dollars is an Iranian fleet" I answered.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Walid Phares is the Director of Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation
for the