Breaking Hezbollah's Golden Rule

By: Washington Institute
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  • Summary

  • Lebanese Hezbollah goes to great lengths to publicize its overt, social, and political activities and to conceal its covert terrorist, militant, and criminal pursuits. In the words of one operative, Hezbollah's "Golden Rule" is this: The Less You Know, the Better.


    In this podcast, terrorism scholar Matthew Levitt sets out to break this rule by shining a bright spotlight on Hezbollah's global terrorist and criminal activities. Levitt has been following Lebanese Hezbollah for almost three decades in and out of government. He's written books, given expert testimony, and literally mapped Hezbollah's worldwide illicit activities in an online interactive map and timeline. (https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/hezbollahinteractivemap)


    Listen as Levitt tracks Hezbollah's evolution over the years and its operations across the globe from Lebanon to Kuwait, across Europe and Asia, then on to the Western Hemisphere from Buenos Aires to New York. Along the way, he'll speak with law enforcement officers, intelligence agents, government officials, and world-class experts from around the globe, each of whom has first-person experience confronting Hezbollah and uncovering things the group would much prefer nobody ever heard about.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Washington Institute
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Political Science Politics & Government World
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Episodes
  • Breaking Hezbollah's Golden Rule - Trailer

    Breaking Hezbollah's Golden Rule - Trailer
    Jan 21 2022
    Preview Breaking Hezbollah's Golden Rule, a podcast series devoted to shining a bright light on the global terrorist and criminal activities that the Lebanese organization would rather remain in the shadows. Coming soon to your favorite podcatcher.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    2 mins
  • Origin Story—"Wild, Wild West Beirut"

    Origin Story—"Wild, Wild West Beirut"
    Feb 9 2022

    On his first day with the State Department, Special Agent Fred Burton found a suicide bomber’s ear in a file on his desk. The bomber had targeted the U.S. embassy in Beirut on behalf of a shadowy new group called Hezbollah. Soon, the group was carrying out even bigger attacks and kidnapping journalists and innocent civilians for ransom. Reporting on these events, a CIA report from the time referred to the area as "Wild, Wild West Beirut." Where did this group come from? Where did it get funding and support? And where would it strike next?



    Guests: 

    Fred Burton, former police officer, special agent, and New York Times bestselling author.

    Magnus Ranstorp, strategic advisor at the Centre for Societal Security and the EU Radicalisation Awareness Network.

      


    Breaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule is hosted Dr. Matthew Levitt from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

     

    It is produced by Anouk Millet from Earshot Strategies, and written by Dr. Levitt and Lauren Fredericks, a Washington Institute research assistant.

     

    Explore my map and timeline of Hezbollah’s Worldwide activities.

     

    For a full transcript of the episode, a list of sources, recommended reading, and information on our guests, visit our website.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    30 mins
  • Hezbollah Goes Global

    Hezbollah Goes Global
    Feb 16 2022

    In December 1983, six blasts shook Kuwait’s capital city. Two prominent Hezbollah operatives oversaw the attack. Soon, bombs were going off in Paris, Copenhagen, and Saudi Arabia, while other members of the group hijacked TWA Flight 847 and murdered U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem. What did Hezbollah want? And why was a Lebanese-based militant group conducting attacks in Europe and the Gulf?



    Guests:

    Nader Uskowi, former journalist and author of Temperature Rising: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Wars in the Middle East

    Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project

    Hans-Georg Engelke, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community



    Breaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule is hosted Dr. Matthew Levitt from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

     

    It is produced by Anouk Millet from Earshot Strategies, and written by Dr. Levitt and Lauren Fredericks, a Washington Institute research assistant.

     

    Explore my map and timeline of Hezbollah’s Worldwide activities.

     

    For a full transcript of the episode, a list of sources, recommended reading, and information on our guests, visit our website.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show more Show less
    31 mins

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Profile Image for "mksmks"

Must-listen

Terrific podcast on Hezbollah by the scholar who literally wrote the book on the organization. A must-listen for anyone interested in national security or the Middle East.

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Profile Image for Cherry Pie

Excellent addition to Hezbollah-obsessed randos like me

I have a strange obsesssion with the history of Hezbollah and the consequences of the Lebanese Civil War. Their kamikaze mindset is fascinating; their danger post-Syria civil war is underestimated as Israel descends into useless “peace plans” with Saudis. Meanwhile Iran’s military power only grows.

The real danger gets closer and closer to Tel-Aviv. Wake up people!!!!

This series adds a lot of interesting information. Also Mr. Levitt please make an audiobook version of your earlier book. Thank you!!!!

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Profile Image for Anonymous User

Well produced israeli propaganda

This series is an alarmist one sided view on a complex local phenomenon. It strikes me as a lobbyist who tries to sell a local Israeli concern as a worldwide problem, especially for consumption for an American audience.

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1 person found this helpful