Small Wars Journal

The Hizballah-North Korean Nexus

Sun, 01/23/2011 - 8:42am
The Hizballah-North Korean Nexus

by Carl Anthony Wege

Download The Full Article: The Hizballah-North Korean Nexus

A significant relationship between Hizballah and North Korea, facilitated by Iran, has developed over the last two decades. This relationship has changed the configuration of Hizballah and shaped it into a more formidable military entity. The famed Hizballah Model now includes a North Korean flavor.

In the early twentieth century Paris sought to create a Christian-Arab state in the environs of Mt. Lebanon to further French political objectives. Lebanon was established with a confessional system dominated by a Maronite-Sunni axis to the disadvantage of the Shi'a.

This confessional system stratified Lebanese political institutions and society in a way that became increasingly untenable precipitating a civil war in 1975. The Lebanese fratricide included Palestinians, Israelis, and Syrians. Clan, tribe, and confessional association became more important than any intermediating Lebanese political institutions. The outbreak of the war in the spring of 1975 was followed by a Syrian intervention in 1976 and Israeli invasions in 1978 and 1982.

Among the Shi'a the 1982 Israeli-Lebanon war catalyzed the emergence of Islamic Amal (Amal Al-Islamiyah), led by Hussein Musawi when he and hundreds of followers from Musa Sadr's original AMAL organization streamed east to Baalbek in Lebanon's Bekka valley joining Sheikh Subhi Tufayli's cadre from Lebanon's al-Dawah (the Islamic Call). A coalition developed between the Musawi organization, the followers of Sheikh Subhi al-Tufayli, and other Shi'a factions. The Sepahe al-Quds (Jerusalem) elements of Iran's Pasdaran (Padan-e Inqilal-e Islami or Revolutionary Guards) in coordination with the Iranian Embassy's in Beirut and Damascus, deployed in the eastern Bekka in July of 1982, built on this and Hizballah was born.

Download The Full Article: The Hizballah-North Korean Nexus

Carl Anthony Wege is a Professor of Political Science at the College of Coastal Georgia and has previously published a variety of materials on Hizballah.

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Comments

Seaworthy

Thu, 01/27/2011 - 2:25pm

It should always be remembered that state intelligence agencies will leak various information and disinformation to open sources - in this case, possibly to portray Hizballah as an ever increasing threat to Israel as an example - which may in fact be the case?

Purchasing weapons is a pure business transaction between N. Korea and Iran, and dates back to 1983, when the U.S. launched Operation Staunch, which curtailed much of Iran's traditional sources of military hardware, forcing Iran to look to N. Korea during the First Gulf War, and the relationship continues today.

There is no meaningful warm fuzzy relationship between Hizballah and N. Korea. It is simply a manufacturer supplying a jobber, who further supplies a client.

For fun, you may Google Earth @ coordinates 33 37 15N - 36 25 38E. There you will find Adra, Syria, and a Scud missile base housing N. Korean imported missiles. Awhile back, there was some open source information stating Syria has supplied Hizballah with Scuds, which turned-out to be false.

David McIntosh (not verified)

Thu, 01/27/2011 - 11:17am

The "Iranian-North Korean flavour of Hezbollah" is a fine compliment to the Nazi flavour of Zionized America. Where would the death-eaters be without dreamed-up boogeymen? As Hitler once (supposedly) said, "A good propagandist has the ability to lump multiple opponents into one category." And as Goering, who laughed his way through Neuremberg, said, "Tell a big lie often enough, and the people will come to believe it." Heil! to the uber-fakers, maids of the banksters. Way to keep the dough rolling, and the blood flowing.

..And furthermore, I expect to see this article amplified over the media, as well as similar articles, in the lead up to Israels next attack on Lebanon, which, by my calculations, must come before the Lebanese tourist season gets underway.

A cursory check of references indicates that there is not one scintilla of evidence to back up this preposterous story.

For example, from the "Jerusalem Post" article cited as reference #45. This is hearsay at best:

"The network, according to the Intelligence Online Web site, was created by Hizbullah militants trained in the construction of underground facilities by North Korean experts. The tunnels in Lebanon are said to bear a striking resemblance to similar facilities discovered by the South Koreans in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas."

Further googling of the authors name suggests a less than stellar publication record of similar articles from this so called "expert".

I liked the way he worked in the reference to Iran's "undoubted" nuclear weapons program, that was classy for a shill.

GoJets (not verified)

Sun, 01/23/2011 - 7:37pm

In an article where you make claims about the growing strength of a DPRK / Hezb relationship it would be helpful to cite some actual evidence that extends beyond hearsay and doubtful causality.