Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Hezbollah Vs. Israel Now Extends To Mexico

I have posted before about Hezbollah's involvement in drug trafficking in general and in Mexico in particular.

Mother Jones also writes about Hezbollah in Mexico Stoking Terrorism Fears, though playing down the actual threat of a terrorist attack from Hezbollah:
Sorry, folks. As Scott Stewart at STRATFOR points out, it's very unlikely. Hezbollah, as Stewart rightly emphasizes, is no longer a young hothead looking to make a name for itself. Senior Hezbollah leaders are often "influential politicians and wealthy businessmen," Stewart writes.
Hezbollah sees the US as a business office, not a foxhole. And besides, if Hezbollah did attack the US, it would make itself (and Iran) a military target. And after seeing the devastation in Iraq, that's likely not something it's pursuing. "Hezbollah could conduct attacks in the United States, but it would pay a terrible price for doing so, and it does not appear that it is willing to pay that price," Stewart writes. "Hezbollah leadership may be radical, but it is not irrational."

This is fortunate for us Americans, as Hezbollah is infinitely better equipped and better trained than al Qaeda and—according to this January CRS report (PDF)—the Mexican government's counterintelligence operations are underfunded and stretched thin by the Calderon's drug war.
Another factor is the fact that, according to The Latin American Herald Tribune, Mexico Has Israeli Spy Drones, According to Documents:
The Mexican government in the middle of last year acquired an unknown number of Israeli-made surveillance drones to perform monitoring tasks in border areas and near strategic installations, according to a defense ministry document obtained by Efe under freedom of information laws.

The ministry said it paid $23.5 million for each Hermes 450, an unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Israel’s Elbit Systems, but it declined to say how many units were purchased.
There is no mention of Hezbollah in the article, though in fact--as Mother Jones notes--Hezbollah is in tight with the cartels
Hezbollah doesn't seem intent on waging war against the US from across the Mexican border. Instead, its mission seems to be to use the cartels' reign in Mexico to increase the year's profits and, more significantly, to leverage its presence in Mexico as a deterrent to US attacks on Iran. "Hezbollah (and its Iranian patrons) have established a solid foothold in the Americas, and they have demonstrated a capability to... move operatives and conduct attacks should they choose," STRATFOR opines. "This is what US government officials fear, and what the Iranians want them to fear."
Now it looks like Hezbollah has something to fear too.

Now if only the US would do something to help Israel with her neighbor the way Israel is helping the US with hers.

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1 comment:

NormanF said...

They are everywhere. Just look at Hezbollah's logo!

Think they don't have sleeper agent cells in America?

After what you've read of their being tight with the Mexican drug cartels, think again.