Who:

Hezbollah – “Party of God” A Powerful political and military organization from Lebanon and made up of primarily Shia Muslims. The Hezbollah began with heavy funding from Iran.

Overview:

The Hezbollah is a political organization that the US has branded as a terrorist organization. They are based in Lebanon and have several seats in parliament which also makes them a political organization. The Hezbollah began in 1982 and has been heavily backed by Iran, especially monetarily.

Priorities:

Initially, the Hezbollah’s main priority was to aid in the resistance against Israel. Today, their main priorities have shifted some with recent events that have occurred in Syria. Primarily, they claim their main priority in relation to the conflict in Syria is protecting the border between Lebanon and Syria

Support:

They support Assad and the Syrian government. They claim to support in simply protecting their border with Syria, but they have crossed over into the fighting that is occurring today in Syria

Political Associations:

Politically, the Hezbollah was backed by Iran which supported it with arms as well as money. Today, the Hezbollah is also Pro-Syria and they stand with Assad’s Syrian government.

Criticisms:

The UN has passed two resolutions in Lebanon calling for the complete destruction of Militias due to instability in the Lebanese government because of militia violence, but the Hezbollah remains in tact and growing in power and presence today. The Hezbollah themselves have denied criticisms of their involvement in Syria, but that has been stated by the United States to be untrue.