STEVE INSKEEP, BYLINE: We have a closer look at the enemy Israel is fighting in Lebanon. That look comes from a man who studied it. How long have you been paying attention to Hezbollah?
MATTHEW LEVITT: Many, many years.
INSKEEP: Matthew Levitt has studied Hezbollah through government jobs and as an academic.
LEVITT: Look, you wind me up on Hezbollah, and I won't stop.
INSKEEP: So we had a conversation about the group that Israel has devastated in recent days. An attack blew up pagers and radios. Israelis then bombed Beirut, killed Hezbollah leaders and sent troops into Lebanon. The United Nations says this operation has displaced more than 900,000 people. Iran and Hezbollah have sent missiles to Israel in response. Matthew Levitt says the group's history reaches back more than 40 years.
LEVITT: Hezbollah was founded around 1982, but it only officially announced itself in an open letter in 1985. For many years, Hezbollah officials denied that they exist, because that enabled them to say that they weren't behind the Beirut bombings in 1983.
INSKEEP: Oh, this was an attack on U.S. Marines, among others, in Beirut.
LEVITT: Attack on the U.S. Marine barracks, the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Embassy Annex, the attack on the French forces, strings of kidnappings. This is really what put Hezbollah - then operating under the name Islamic Jihad Organization - on the map. As the anniversaries of these incidents came around, however, Hezbollah officials started talking publicly about how, what we did - don't make us do those types of things again. 1985, it publicly announces itself and pledges itself to Iran. Ultimately got involved in politics. Became very powerful with their allies - some Christian parties, in particular. Built up a blocking third in the parliament, so they're able to control what laws pass and what don't. And Hezbollah is not the only party responsible for the deep, deep economic crisis in Lebanon, but they bear a lot of the responsibility.
INSKEEP: Listening to you, it sounds like Hezbollah has always been not some local ally of Iran that is supported by Iran, but a proxy of Iran - even a subsidiary of Iran.
LEVITT: Look, that's true. This relationship has fluctuated a little bit over time like a really good, strong marriage might, but always within the bounds of that strong relationship. We saw, for example, Hezbollah not being terribly excited at first about getting involved in the Syrian Civil War. But when the Iranians then sent someone from the office of the Supreme Leader, Hassan Nasrallah - the recently killed head of Hezbollah - said, oh, I get it. And they went all in, even though they knew that was going to undermine their position in Lebanon. This is a deep, deep ideological bond. They see themselves as part of the Iranian security fabric. Now, with the Israelis hitting Hezbollah so hard over just the past few weeks, what's happened is not just the degrading of Hezbollah's capabilities targeting Israel, but it's effectively had a really significant impact degrading Iran's Axis of Resistance - Iran's proxy network.
INSKEEP: What does Hezbollah do to maintain some political support within Lebanon?
LEVITT: Lebanon is a country that is governed by Mafia-style dons. Hezbollah is just one of them. There are similar ones in each of the other sectarian communities. They collectively are invested in this system that enables them to provide jobs and services and largesse to their supporters, and get their support. And by virtue of Hezbollah holding on to its arms, it's kind of the enforcer of this system that benefits not only Hezbollah, but the other Mafia-style parties. But Hezbollah has huge social welfare activities, from schools and food programs to medical clinics to the Mahdi Scouts, which is their version of the Cub Scouts, though indoctrinating people to less altruistic ideas. And this goes a very far way, especially given the economic crisis that Lebanon has been suffering. The state is unable, unwilling and too corrupt to be able to provide people the support they need. And Hezbollah has stepped in, and that gets Hezbollah a lot of grassroots support.
INSKEEP: It's common for analysts to say of Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, among Palestinians, that you can't destroy Hamas. You might kill their leaders, but it's a political movement. Some form of its beliefs are embraced by millions of people. You can't destroy Hamas. That's the commonplace saying. Is it possible to destroy Hezbollah?
LEVITT: Look, in both cases, it is possible to inflict battlefield defeat. It's possible to destroy their weaponry and make them far less of a threat. The Israelis have demonstrated in the most astounding way that even over a short period of time, if you hit the right things, if you have the right intelligence, you can pull the rug out from Hezbollah. I do not think it's an exaggeration to say that the Hezbollah that we knew as of two weeks ago no longer exists.
INSKEEP: Matthew Levitt is the author of "Hezbollah: The Global Footprint Of Lebanon's Party Of God." Thanks so much.
LEVITT: Thank you, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
