المارد الشيعي يخرج من القمقم؛ 30 عاماً من الصراع بين حزب الله وإسرائيل

by Nicholas Blanford

"شيعة لبنان قديمون بقدم لبنان نفسه، لقد شاركوا جماعات أخرى في حراثة سهوله وجباله، واستصلاح أرضه، وحماية حدوده، عاش الشيعة في لبنان حياة ازدهار بالرغم من المِحَن، ورووا ترابه بدماء أبنائهم، ورفعوا رايات المجد في سمائه لأنهم كانوا على رأس معظم الثورات". بهذه الكلمات للإمام الرمز السيد موسى الصدر – صاحب الفكر والعقيدة ورجل السلام والحوار – يفتتح "نيكولاس بلانفورد" الصحافي في مجلة تايم الأمريكية كتابه المثير للجدل "المارد الشيعي يخرج من القمقم" وفيه يسلط الضوء على ثلاثون عاماً من الصراع بين حزب الله وإسرائيل. يعتبر حزب الله أقوى مجموعة إسلامية في الشرق الأوسط اليوم. وما من صحفي غربي توغل عميقاً في هذه المنظمة السرية كما فعل نيكولاس بلانفورد. كتب بلانفورد أول تحقيق شامل عن حزب الله وصراعه الطويل ضد إسرائيل. استناداً إلى أكثر من عقد ونصف العقد من العمل كمراسل في لبنان، ومن اللقاءات مع عناصر حزب الله، يكشف بلانفورد عقيدتهم، ودوافعهم، وتدريباتهم، فضلاً عن معلومات جديدة عن التكتيكات العسكرية، والأسلحة، والحرب الإلكترونية ونظم الاتصالات المتطورة. استخدم بلانفورد مصادر حصرية ومهارات التحقيق الحثيثة التي يتمتّع بها لتعقب تطور حزب الله الاستثنائي، من مجموعة متحمسة من المقاتلين قليلي الخبرة، الذين حفزتهم الثورة الإسلامية الإيرانية عام 1979 ليصبحوا أكبر منظمة عسكرية غير حكومية في العالم، والتي يعَدُ أمينها العام ذو الشخصية القيادية الكاريزماتية بقرب دمار إسرائيل. مع روايات شهود عيان مثيرة، بما في ذلك تجارب بلانفورد نفسه مع المعارك، والمجازر، والانتصارات، والمآسي التي دمغت الصراع. يسرد هذا الكتاب قصة المقاومة بنجاحها المتعاظم، والتي أدت إلى انسحاب إسرائيل التاريخي من لبنان عام 2000. يبين كتاب "المارد الشيعي يخرج من القمقم" كيف كسب حزب الله القلوب والعقول مع برامج الرعاية الاجتماعية الشاملة ومهارات الدعاية المتطورة. كما يتتبع بلانفورد التطور العسكري للمجموعة السرية منذ عام 2000 ويكشف عن النطاق المذهل الذي بلغته شبكتها الممتدة تحت الأرض من أنفاق وخنادق، ليصبح الصحفي الوحيد الذي اكتشفها واستكشفها على نحو مستقل. ومع خوف الشرق الأوسط من حرب أخرى أكثر شراسة بين لبنان وإسرائيل، يتقصّى بلانفورد بعناد استعدادات حزب الله بعد عام 2006 في الجبال اللبنانية، ليحقّق أكثر من سبق صحفي، كما أنه يروي قصصاً عن الاستجوابات التي خضع لها، فضلاً عن تمضيته ليلة في السجن. يضم كتاب "المارد الشيعي يخرج من القمقم" ستة عشر عاماً من المقابلات مع قادة وعناصر حزب الله، ويعتبر ضرورياً لفهم لاعب أساسي في منطقة تؤرجحها الشكوك والتغييرات.

Genres: History, Middle East, Politics, Nonfiction, Lebanon, War, Islam

463 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Hassan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, this book deserves more than five stars and I will definitely read it again. It is a highly recommended book for anyone interested in an unbiased story of Hezbollah resistance against Israel. Thanks for the writer for this well written book. I had many sleepless nights in reading the details of the 30 years struggle from victories in south Lebanon to the sad massacre of Qana and the victory of the year 2006 war. Salute to Hezbollah heroes

[Rachel Sharf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary beyond belief. Hezbollah became so powerful and sophisticated and all they want besides domineering Lebanon's politics is to destroy the state of Israel.
Nicholas Blanford writes a very detailed and apparently well researched book and this makes it scarier.

[Aboud Hamayel · Rating 5 out of 5]

يحاكي صعود حزب الله كجيش غير نظامي قادر على مقارعة اسرائيل و هزميتها. من التدريب الايدولوجي الي العملي الى منظومة اجتماعية/اقتصادية كاملة الكتاب يوضح تكامل حزب الله ليش فقط كمنظومة عسكرية و لكن كذلك كمجتمع مقاوم و محصن

[Ljm · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites and too damn proud to be a Lebanese . Labayka ya Nasrallah

[Tish · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE MOST DANGEROUS VACATION OF MY LIFE

A couple months before I was slated to visit a childhood friend in Beirut, I got in the weekly habit of Googling “Lebanon news”. The results were petrifying: Bomb kills an ex-politician and five others in downtown Beirut. Twin suicide bombings target the Iranian Cultural Centre. Car bombing killed eight in 2012 and rattled the Singapore consulate building 1 kilometre away, where my friend was at the time. I needed Warriors of God to help me with two goals:

1)  To exorcise the terrifying mysteries of the daily news. Who wanted the former finance minister dead, and why? Who were the key players behind these faceless reports, and how could I know which Lebanese neighbourhoods to avoid?

2)  I had recently read a dry academic book that had loaded my blank slate with disconnected names and summit dates. I needed to put some dialogue and colour to the politicians, to understand Shimon Peres's story and Rafik Hariri's story.


PHYSICS 101 OF THE LEBANESE-ISRAELI CONFLICT

If you've repeatedly Wikipedia'ed “Sunni” and “Shia” Muslims and their definitions refused to stick, then this book may be worth your while. Mr. Blanford takes you back in history, explaining how Shias took to martyrdom, and how religious Shiite leaders such as the gentle Musa Sadr, who aided the downtrodden Lebanese, linked their fates to Iran.

Scenes of beloved Hezbollah cleric Abbas Mussawi praying and weeping for each fighter prime us well for the pivotal moment when the action-reaction equilibrium was established – when Israeli helicopters blew up the car containing Mussawi and his wife and 5-year-old. In retaliation, Hezbollah bombed an Israeli embassy in Argentina and fired rockets into northern Israel, which they would continue attacking whenever Israel killed Lebanese civilians. This gave me the logic I craved to calculate my safety odds: “If Israel isn't currently occupying southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah didn't recently attack Israel, and no other conflict is occurring in the area, then it's probably safe to visit Sidon and Tyre.”


I GOT WHAT I WANTED, PART 2 – UNFORGETTABLE STORIES

“Warriors of God” holds a trove of anecdotes about Hezbollah leaders, regional politicians, and a collection of outrages perpetrated by the IDF that give some insight to why Hezbollah demands Israel's destruction – in the occupation zone the IDF smashed down doors, bulldozed at least 49 houses of “suspects”, and restricted movement with curfews and landmines. I will never forget that Shimon Peres had a reputation for peace that inadvertently spawned the disastrous Grapes of Wrath campaign, or that Hezbollah's Nasrallah and Rafik Hariri bonded over their mutual losses of a child. The name Ansariyah will forever be associated with Hezbollah's brutal slaughter of Israeli commandos, and Mr. Blanford immortalizes a likeable, chatty taxi driver who happened to be in the wrong place with the Israelis at the wrong time.

“On Feb 17, Israeli and SLA forces marched into Arnoun and annexed the unoccupied half of the village... The few dozen residents awoke the next morning to find themselves separated from the rest of Lebanon by new barricades of bulldozed earth and coils of barbed wire. Dangling from the wire were yellow metal signs warning of land mines, helpfully inscribed in Arabic, English, and Hebrew.”

THE DEVIL IS IN THE ICING

And then this book went on to give me far more than I'd asked of it.

As a bonus I expanded my encyclopaedia of guerrilla arms and tactics. I learnt about all types of explosives – homemade bombs, cluster bombs, landmines, shaped-charge IEDs triggered by remote/timer/trip-wire – and how Hezbollah became the unstoppable force that penetrated the immovable Merkava tanks. I realized how much trivia I had absorbed when I toured the Resistance Museum in Mleeta and could finish our guide's sentences at most artillery exhibits.

The life of a Hezbollah recruit is another fascinating detour. Why they join, can they have families, “the importance of jihad as it is taught by Hezbollah”, and how they develop the frightening discipline to lay in ambush for a month with the wild animals!

“We study each of the recruits' strengths, physically and mentally. If he's good at physics, then he will study trajectories [for artillery]. If he's good at chemistry, then he will study explosives.”
– sector commander in the Islamic Resistance

THOUGHTS ON MR. BLANFORD

A couple words on what this book is not: It is not an exposé of humanitarian outrages from a brash young outsider flexing sensational literary gymnastics to draw awareness to shadowy conspiracies. Neither is it an academic treatise of the conflict scrupulously balanced between both Lebanese and Israeli perspectives – Mr. Blanford makes an effort not to betray much personal judgement, but overwhelmingly depicts the triumphs and pathos of Hezbollah men (and they are all men), the tragedies of Lebanese commoners, the awed humiliation of miscalculating Israeli officers, but includes no humanizing accounts from Israeli civilians.

“Warriors of God” is for the reader who is willing to slog through a painstaking almanac Mr. Blanford has crafted from years of staid journalism to appreciate the mundane affection he feels for his second home. He wants us to understand the resistance Shias as humans, the way that many Westerners don't, yet also to admire them as something greater than individuals fighting for a more comfortable life – as forces that assumed superhuman discipline and sophistication fighting for the right to existence in their bucolic hills. And yet, after their purpose has been served in expelling Israel from their country, they remain tacky has-beens in the present, mired in political scandal as they cling to the weapons and relevance of their glory days.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took an opportunity to do some reading up on Hezbollah which has been featured in a series of headlines over the last year. One comprehensive source on the terror group’s regional operations is the book “Warriors or God: Inside Hezbollah’s Thirty-Year Struggle Against Israel” by Nicholas Blanchard. Some of my comments below have been supplemented by other reading, but Blanchard’s book was interesting enough to warrant individual comment. Without “going native” or taking sides, Blanchard wrote an excellent book about Hezbollah’s operations/exploits from its inception through the book’s 2011 release. Like any long-term investigative journalist (17 years) Blanchard used his various contacts to conduct numerous interviews to produce an inside view of Hezbollah from the perspective of its members, senior leaders, and others.

I really did enjoy the book overall. Blanchard had a sappy “ode to the futility of war” section (as I call it) at the end of the book, but I did not mind the liberty of it too much. In the final analysis, I think Hezbollah has a psychological need for Israel as its enemy that can never be quenched short of the country and its people’s destruction. As unreasonable as that is, the group is very good at what they do for a multitude of reasons–resulting in a terror group that demands and receives due respect from supporters and detractors alike. If you have any interest in what makes Hezbollah tick as a well organized terror group, I highly recommend this book. The totality of my comments follow:

---

Hezbollah is more of a threat to the United States and its interests than al Qaeda. In fact, prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Hezbollah was responsible for the deaths of more Americans than any other transnational terror group. The “Global War on Terror” has concentrated on al Qaeda and allowed Hezbollah–a sophisticated, patient, adaptive, globalized, and potentially more lethal group of transnational terrorists–to fade into the background of concern. During this same transitional period, Hezbollah opted to remain most active in its primary theater of operation–southern Lebanon–despite its renewed penchant for transnational adventurism.

An examination of Hezbollah’s conflict with Israel reveals five major reasons why the regional conflict has dominated the group’s actions despite its transnational capabilities and interests.

 Resistance to Israel is its primary, unaltered, and doctrinal raison d'être.

 Resistance to Israel serves the popular political purposes of the Lebanese people and the Iranian government.

 The bulk of Hezbollah’s forces are based in Lebanon with easy access to the Israelis as “the near enemy” where it has had the most success.

 The bulk of Hezbollah’s funds are raised outside of the region for use inside the region.

 Iran’s leadership has not asked the organization to shift its focus to the United States–though the U.S., as “the far enemy,” is now much closer via Latin America.

Hezbollah’s single weakest link is its need for funding. Buying arms, training its personnel, operating its media empire, and continually securing the support of the Lebanese people are expensive endeavors. The U.S. and other nations should increase efforts to reduce Hezbollah’s funding as a primary non-combative means of keeping the organization at bay...and, yes, this is a task much easier said than done.

[Fatima Hojeij · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok first not everything in this book was entirely accurate. And some facts were half the truth. Most importantly in the last few chapters of the book when Blanfords tries to show that Hezbollah has been weakened and lost some support. Which is completely wrong in my opinion Hezbollah is stronger than ever now and is getting stronger everyday. Always looking to improve themselves and ready themselves for the next war ( It saddens me to say it but the next war is surely inevitable). Also Hezbollah is gaining more supporters everyday -true it lost most of its Arab supporters but what good did they ever do? It's not like Hezbollah was getting anything from their support- and due to its protection of Shia and Christians in Syria it is getting more and more support from those two sects around the world. (Ofcourse from those who do know the truth about the FSA). So anyway Hezbollah is not getting weaker but stronger. And EU it's not a terrorist organization.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initial thoughts before a summary of the book:
*The writing, as one reviewer noted, is “pacy.” In many places it reads like a novel. The author’s 1st-person narrative adds flavor.
*It is slanted towards Hezbollah, though not uncritically.

Key argument: “Syria is the vital geo-strategic lynchpin connecting Iran to Hezbollah. It grants Hezbollah strategic depth and political backing, and serves as a conduit for the transfer of heavy weapons across the rugged border with Lebanon” (Blanford xvi).

Unlike other paramilitary/terrorist groups, or at least how they are perceived, Hezbollah provided for the people’s welfare. If the Israelis bulldozed your home, they would build you a new one. If your husband was killed, Hezbollah would see you are taken care of.

Hezbollah’s Evolution

The Taif Agreement: coming at the tail end of the Lebanese civil war. In some ways it redefine how Hezbollah would operate (93ff)

(1) It established Syria as the dominant Arab power
(2) There was new leadership in Iran. Hezbollah now had to accommodate itself to more moderate allies.

One of the things that makes Hezbollah so dangerous is it routinely adapted its strategies over 20 years against a superior force. As a result IDF knew it faced “a full-fledged insurgency by an enemy trained and armed by Iran, politically protected by Syria, and implementing ever more effective and deadly tactics” (146).

Israel’s problem: its initial purpose in occupying Lebanon was to protect its northern border. Hezbollah quickly negated that. If provoked, Hezbollah could rain Katyusha rockets on Israel. Therefore, Israel had to find a way to strike and neutralize Hezbollah without Lebanese casualties. As Blanford notes, “Artillery and air power [were] too clumsy for the challenge it [Israel] faced. It was like trying to swat a mosquito with a baseball bat in a china shop” (146).

The Qana Massacre

Initially, it appeared that Hezbollah fired mortar rounds from the vicinity of the Fijian UNIFIL compound (where hundreds of civilians were staying). Thus, Israel’s shelling of the compound was simply a response to Hezbollah.

Except that Israel shelled the base in two phases during a 17 minute time frame. Israel switched from targeting the cemetery (where Hezbollah had been) to the base itself.

Transitions and Developments

“With the help of its state sponsors, principally Iran, but also to an extent Syria, [Hezbollah] was transformed in the six years between the Israeli withdrawal of 2000 and the outbreak of the thirty-four day war into what military analysts today describe as a ‘hybrid’ force--a nonstate militant group employing both irregular and conventional weapons and tactics in a single battlespace” (409-410).

The last chapters discuss weapons and future developments. Around 2010 Hezbollah hinted at a coming, final war with Israel. We know from hindsight that the rise of ISIS prevented this.

[Max Balestra · Rating 4 out of 5]

You cannot come out of a reading of this book without a renewed respect for Hezbollah. In a little over three decades, the "Party of God" went from a ragtag militia to a powerful political and military organization that not only practically controls Lebanon, but extends its power and influence all over the world. Hezbollah militants are not to be underestimated. From Blanford's description, they remind me very much of the Waffen SS: carefully selected, thoroughly indoctrinated, and rigidly trained. Their military doctrine is smart and inventive, and their weaponry state-of-the-art.

This is probably the most complete account of Hezbollah's history, both political and military, a book you don't want to miss if you want to understand the "Party of God". And yet a better subtitle would have been: "An history of the Southern Lebanon conflict from an Hezbollah perspective".

Blanford spends most of its time on the Hezbollah/Israel conflict in southern Lebanon, going into great detail, but becomes careful when it comes to go too deep into Hezbollah's internal dynamics, its weaknesses, failures, and war crimes.

This is a drag on the book, after a while you grow tired of reading about how awesome Hezbollah is, and how clumsy the Israelis have been in dealing with it. The book alternates extremely exciting and excruciatingly slow chapters with disturbing regularity, and very often you find yourself wondering: "When do we go back to the good stuff?"

Israeli policies and operations are dissected, sometimes, to be honest, in a far-fetched (the "deluxe laboratory"), and bordering
sensationalistic ("the great terrain robbery") way, but when it comes to Hezbollah itself, Blanford always stops short of going too deep into details and, indeed, sometimes looks downright reticent. The most boring part of the book is the long, triumphalistic, and largely superfluous account of the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

Meanwhile, the illicit sources of Hezbollah's financing, narcotics and blood diamonds trafficking, the international money laundering operations, the terrorist and mercenary activities abroad, Hezbollah's proxying for Iran, Hezbollah's well documented disinformation tactics (especially during the 2006 war), all of this is barely touched. Can you really write a book that means to be informative about Hezbollah and not delve into these things?

I understand that Nicholas Blanford has lived in Beirut for a long time, and he has visibly gone a little bit native. I wouldn't go so far to call the book biased, but it is obviously written from a sympathetic perspective, while making an effort to remain objective.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sympathetic-but-not-too-sympathetic look at the world's premier militarized NGO, or army-cum-social-services-provider if you prefer. I've got a tremendous deal more respect for Hezbollah than I did before reading this book, and a good deal more understanding of their aims and methods. I'm also even happier that I don't live anywhere near the Middle East.

My only gripe: Blanford should've spent more time discussing Hezbollah's weaknesses and internal tensions. Hezbollah owes much to the Shia of southern and central Lebanon, the Iranians, and the Syrians, and they need to be able to placate the Lebanese government and military, and the various other sectarian groups in Lebanon (Druze, Allawites, Maronites, Sunni). That's a lot to juggle while trying to erase the Israelis in apocalyptic orgies of tactically superb martyrdom. Hezbollah might stumble or even unravel for all sorts of reasons, and those reasons are worth investigating in greater depth than Blanford does in his book. After all, much of the story of Hezbollah is the story of Israeli overconfidence, bungling, and misteps.

I think I'll read more about this conflict, which I hope Blanford will take as a compliment.

[teohjitkhiam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written shortly before #ISIL's rise, this is a recommended reading for those interested in the volatile Middle East.

[زنبيان · Rating 5 out of 5]

أفضل كتاب عن تاريخ و تطور منظومة المقاومة

[Hadeel · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I tell you: the Israel that owns nuclear weapons and has the strongest air force in the region is weaker than the spider’s web.” -Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, May 26, 2000.

an incredibly ambitious book that offers a detailed
forray into the inner workings of hezbollah as the premier, de facto acting group in lebanon. blandford’s accounts of the many wars and israeli aggressions against southern lebanon are insanely vivid and thrilling. i need him to write another book about the resistance from 2010 and onwards STAT.

[Alexander Sukacz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felt emotional to read this and the descriptions of south Lebanon in the book hit close to home. Loved how the author dedicated the last chapter to the ghosts of the past that exist in Lebanon as a result of the long war between Israel and Hezbollah. Also had some riveting war reporting stories with a mix of nerdy writing.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Warriors of God" by Nicholas Blandford is a presentation of Hezbollah's narrative on itself. A presentation very similar to one that would be provided by a representing defense attorney, omitting information and avoiding embarrassing questions. It is, however, a literate and well written presentation.

For those interested in learning about Hezbollah's official public image and narrative, this is definitely the book. It will also appeal to those gathering secondary sources on Hezbollah. However, for those interested in rigorous study of Hezbollah, its history, and its place in Lebanon and the Middle East, wading through the verbiage of this book will prove far less rewarding.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and well-written account of Hezbollah and its role in Lebanon. Blanford is an English journalist who has been in Lebanon for over 2 decades and he has a truly impressive list of people he has met and he tells their stories in a way that makes a reader have a better understand of the situation in Lebanon and its uneasy relationship with its neighbor, Israel. I would certainly suggest this book for anyone who wants to know more about the region and the nature of the resistance that goes on now and has been going on for over thirty years.

[Ronn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be informative especially in the political, social, and economical relationships between Hezbollah, PLO, Iran, Syria, Israel and of course Lebanon. I didn't realize the extent of the Hezbollah organization. Hezbollah does not seem to be a group of ragtag wild eyed terrorist running around try to create bloody mayhem for no purpose, if so they would be less scary then they are.

I'm becoming much more of a skeptic when it comes to using military options to combat terrorism especially when it entails substantial civilian causalities in countries that already distrust us.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely well written & researched, the book goes into exhausting detail of all things Hezbollah, from their inception to the present day (2011). If you don't have an interest in Hezbollah or Middle Eastern affairs, I think you'll find the book daunting. For those that do, it's a great book from start to finish that doesn't skimp on the details.

[Curt Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent review of Hezbollah's history and the strategic problem Israel faces. Great quote: "The real flaw, however, is that the anti rocket systems are a tactical solution to a strategic problem"

[Raffi · Rating 5 out of 5]

He has revealed a lot of information and has tried not to be biased regarding the struggle between Israel and Hezbollah. He has gone deeper in understanding the motives of Hezbollah and how it has evolved throughout the thirty years.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blanford may have fallen victim to becoming a Hezbollah propagandist at some level. Even as he tells the story from being up close and personal - perhaps that's it - he got too close and made it personal. That's not so say that he has not made a contribution to the Mideast story; he has.

[Michael Taouk]

Blanford knows the people and the places. The book is well researched and well written with great insights. I enjoyed reading it and got a much better understanding of what is happening on the Lebanon-Israel boarder and well beyond.

[Ilango · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicholas has a deep understanding of Hezbollah, having lived in Beirut for almost two decades. His book helps shed light into this militarized group.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I owned Lebanon and Hell, I'd rent out Lebanon, and live in Hell!

[Mazen Fakih · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very objective in its description of the group's history and MO.

[Mustafa Olomi]

More than halfway through... the author put in a lot of effort in writing this but I think too much time and energy was spent on military research of specific occurrences, who was involved, and what happened, rather than big picture explanations and themes. This book could have been much shorter and I think Hezbollah: A Short History is much more efficient and better written for someone who wants a primer.

[Connor Keeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think it’s often you can find a book about a paramilitary army that leaves you feeling kind of.. bitterly nostalgic? Somehow that was what Blanford was able to achieve with this book. He weaves decades of personal experience on the ground in Lebanon with history, anecdote, analysis, and humor to create this masterpiece of journalism on the rise of Hizbullah and the Islamic resistance. It’s amazing. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to flip back to the first page and start it again. I’ll swing back around to it later this year I think.

Starting with the heady days of the Iranian revolution and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and ending with the sort of decrepit rot that set in as the organization became a multi-million dollar corporation in the 2010s, Blanford walks you through it all. You follow the scruffy guerrillas in the hills of the Beqaa in the 1980s. You feel the humble piety of Musa Sadr and the hope and zeal inspired by Khomeini’s revolution in Iran. The pain and humiliation of the Israeli occupation, and the fire and excitement of the resistance. You understand and root for the marginalized Shi’ites who stood up against their oppressors and, like Husayn at Karbala, gave their blood for it. It’s hard not to root for them. Blanford obviously identifies with his subjects while not being afraid to be critical of them, it shines through in a great way. And then, as they reach their zenith, you see them slowly morph into besuited bureaucrats and corrupt officials. As “the mementos of occupation fade a little more with each passing year”, the revolutionary generation ossifies and grows old. Some, like Nasrallah, are lent a new dignity. But most aren’t. They just become soft and fat. Transformed into dull symbols. Dusty memorials and museums are erected to the resistance while young “Islamists” drive fast cars and skim cash off of drug runners in their zones. There’s still a glimmer of what made them fierce and worthy of admiration, but it’s slowly fading out of sight. It was the same virus that killed the PLO, but then again that’s the lifecycle of most revolutionary movements. Of course, we’re living in a time of a resistance rebirthed in the blood of Gaza. Hamas was headed down a similar path, but accidentally or intentionally reversed course. But given Hizbullah’s relative inaction against Israel and Nasrallah’s unceremonious assassination at the hands of Israeli jets, it’s hard to ignore Blanford’s point. Though it remains to be seen where things will go from here, I’d say he captures a certain essence.

I think the personal stories and anecdotes Blanford has are probably what seal the book as an all timer. He really dedicated his life to Lebanon and its people and it shows. He writes in countless interviews and conversations with militants, politicians, and ordinary civilians. He relates stories of crawling through abandoned Hizbullah tunnels, of being detained by Lebanese intelligence forces, of coffee with senior paramilitary officials, of seeing the blood and gore of an Israeli air strike, etc. It comes through so clear and really sets his book from apart from some scholar writing in a dusty library. And my god the ending is beautiful.

Definitely recommend as both an insight into Hizbullah and a 10/10 piece of Middle East reportage. Need to get my hands on a physical copy for my next run.

[Brig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author lived among the Lebanese people for one-third of his life as a journalist for the English news publication in Lebanon. While there, his insider allowances and relationships with Hezbollah's foundational members, prove insurmountable hermeneutic research into this book's subject matter. He mixes first-hand accounts with dogged research and personal interviews for his information. While this provides incredible insight from one perspective, it sits a bit lacking in Israeli perspective and plight.
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Though I do not possess a formidable insight into the advent of Hezbollah and their struggles with Israel, I must call attention to the author's tendency to cast Israel as the villain. Not that they don't deserve their share of the blame, given the veracity of this history, and the fact that war comes with a cost. Even so, I felt limited blame was placed on the Shia resistance and their justifications for violence which remain controversial today. This account is brilliant but quite one-sided.

I went into this book not anticipating that but was left with some questions and an opportunity to investigate the opposite viewpoint. This is not a knock on the book, as it was quite good, but merely a "heads-up" to those going in. You'll likely go looking for book two as I have.

[Youssef Shalaby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blanford went to great lengths to get his content, and it shows. The book is amazingly descriptive and the storytelling is just wonderful. It goes into every little detail and places every piece together regarding how Hezbollah came to be, how strong they are today, and their place in Lebanese, Middle Eastern, and even global politics. The book doesn't only detail the origins of the guerrilla group, but also the origins of the most prominent figures and leaders of the organization, all the way from their birth for some. It also details Israeli politics in play in regards to the conflict, and Israeli interactions with the UN. At no point did I feel the book was dull or boring. There was always something interesting being explained.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was certainly a refreshing take on Middle Eastern politics from a western journalist. I can excuse the blatant preferential treatment Blanford gives Hezbollah (for the most part, but more on that in just a second) - simply because it's so rare to find any information in the U.S. which actually attempts to explain the true origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Unless we are students of International Relations, Middle Eastern politics, or have simply chosen to educate ourselves further on the story, we are left with a completely one-sided pro-Israel stance - and sadly enough, that's probably one of the few issues both the GOP and Democrats fully support.

With the help of author Nicholas Blanford, who looks upon Lebanon as a second home (residing there since 1994) - we are able to understand just how outnumbered the Lebanese - along with the Islamic/Arab Resistance Movement - truly are, in comparison with the Israeli Defense Forces, who, quite plainly, wouldn't have the state of Israel without the backing of the United States, British peacekeepers at the time of the conflict who turned a blind eye, and many other sympathetic western governments.

Outnumbered when it comes to international public opinion supporting their interests, outnumbered by Israel's military (and all of the latest weaponry, tactical knowledge, technical equipment, etc., provided by Western governments), outnumbered in the devastating number of civilian casualties (280 civilian deaths alone in two short Israeli operations occurring in 1996 and 2006, I believe). All because Hezbollah took it upon themselves to fight back.

I could go on and on for days about the injustices done to the Palestinians, how the Zionist Jews used the Holocaust "resettlement" as propaganda efforts (you know, insisting that the state of Israel was created as a safe haven for concentration camp survivors - when really, it was far more Jewish people from all over the world setting up camp there in territories already occupied by Palestinians for centuries). Given the collective guilt of the West to prevent the Holocaust, they were prepared to give the Jews anything they wanted when WWII commenced. Unfortunately, it wasn't the Holocaust survivors making the demands. It was the Zionists, with no connection to the Holocaust survivors, using their horrific circumstances to justify their own evil misdeeds.

But enough on that. Check out The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe (a Jewish academic) for more information on the true origins and nature of this supposed "war" (I use quotation marks because war generally implies there are two evenly matched sides) and the devastating consequences it has had for Palestinians for going on eight decades or so.

This book is much more about the group that formed in the early 1980s to deal with the lack of resistance from the Arab states in the face of Israeli aggression (the PLO was all too willing to "negotiate" with Israel, trading their morality for money). Hezbollah really is an admirable group, for the most part 100% committed to their cause (of course there will always be some black sheep within the organization, but for the most part, Hezbollah has managed to keep the corrupt ones at bay). The new recruits then and now undergo incredibly vigorous training courses - from ideological classes on Islamic fundamentalism, jihad, and worship - to arms and explosives training, and actual combat situations.

As most other reviewers have pointed out, the only real deficiency in this book is that Blanford really does overhype Hezbollah to the point that it's a bit silly. To the point that it really wouldn't surprise me in the least if they had hired him as a propagandist for their cause. Nevertheless, he really dives deep into their organization, and how intensely powerful they've become since the 1980s. Even if they don't have the strength to destroy Israel, they'll never stop fighting. Although it is certainly commendable, given that someone has to fight for the Arab cause, it's also quite sad that they know civilians will be targeted by the IDF when they DO fight back.

I guess they really don't have much choice, but it still makes you wonder how the international community hasn't held Israel more responsible for the deliberate civilian targeting and airstrike campaigns. When cars are fleeing from town with white flags pleading with the IDF, "look, we're civilians, we aren't fighting you" yet are still being shot at, or clearly marked Red Cross ambulances with passengers literally on the brink of death are held back from reaching hospitals because the IDF has bombed the main bridges and highways to reach those hospitals... I don't know, I guess you'd think that decades of that behavior would finally culminate in the international community forcing Israel to answer for its crimes against humanity. But nope.

Anyway, I digress. It is still a highly readable book, and anyone interested in Hezbollah will walk away from this book more well-informed than they possibly could have asked for. That's another problem: aside from the clear one-sidedness and often fanboy compliments Blanford employs throughout this book, it also drags on far longer than necessary. Some chapters are extremely exciting and you get through quickly; others, not so much. Still, I doubt there is a better written book on the intricacies of Hezbollah (aside from what Hezbollah itself might publish).

I'd love to see a follow-up to this book now that it's been over a decade since its publication.