Breaking Hezbollah's Golden Rule

Two Hezbollah financiers based in Qatar secretly raised tens of millions of dollars for Hezbollah through banks and cash couriers. The operatives leveraged family connections and utilized a complex web of bank accounts and real estate projects across several Gulf countries to funnel large sums of money back to Lebanon. Hezbollah has a long history of carrying out attacks in the Gulf, but it also sees the region as a lucrative place for raising illicit funds to finance the group. Gulf states have taken notice, and more recently taken action targeting Hezbollah financing in the region.Guests: Nathan Sales, former counterterrorism coordinator, U.S. State DepartmentMarshall Billingslea, former assistant secretary for terrorist financing, U.S. Treasury DepartmentDouglas London, former official, Clandestine Service, CIA. Breaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule is hosted by 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, Lauren von Thaden, and Camille Jablonski, research assistants at The Washington Institute. 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.

40 years ago this week, Hezbollah blew up the barracks of U.S. Marine and French military peacekeepers in Beirut, killing about 300 people. The group continues to carry out attacks, but has developed the means to complement and support these real-life operations through online activities. Hezbollah was one of the first non-state actors to build up a digital presence to conduct cyber operations against its enemies. The group also uses some unconventional means to recruit and radicalize followers and engages in cyber attacks and sleuthing targeting its enemies. Today, Hezbollah even produces its own first-person shooter video games in which gamers kill Israeli soldiers to promote its vision of the world to impressionable youth. This week, we shine our spotlight on Hezbollah’s digital footprint. Guests:Galen Lamphere-Englund, co-founder, Extremism and Gaming Research Network. Alma Keshavarz, official, U.S. Cyber Command. Douglas London, former official, Clandestine Service, CIA. Breaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule is hosted by 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, Lauren von Thaden, and Camille Jablonski, research assistants at The Washington Institute.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.

In 2008, Azerbaijani authorities thwarted a Hezbollah plot to target an Israeli Independence Day celebration and kidnap the Israeli ambassador in Baku. Two Hezbollah operatives were arrested, tried, and convicted, but the group was not deterred by this setback. By 2011, Hezbollah and Iran had formulated “a jumble of overlapping plots” that officials discovered to be part of a coordinated campaign to assassinate foreign diplomats in at least seven countries, including in Azerbaijan.Guests:Ambassador Arthur Lenk, former Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan (2005-2009)Mahammad Mammadov, Research Fellow at the Topchubashov Center in Baku, AzerbaijanZohar Palti, Viterbi International Fellow at The Washington Institute Joby Warrick, national security reporter at The Washington PostBreaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule is hosted by 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, Lauren von Thaden, and Camille Jablonski, research assistants at The Washington Institute. 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.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Hezbollah operative Amer Mohamed Akil Rada for coordinating the activities of various commercial enterprises for Hezbollah, including charcoal exports from Colombia to Lebanon. Rada previously helped case targets for Hezbollah around South America and was a member of the Hezbollah operational squad that carried out the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Here’s the backstory on Rada, recorded prior to the Treasury designation, and more on Hezbollah’s use of front companies to hide its criminal and terrorist activities in the Western Hemisphere. Guests:Armando Cortez, Director of the Anti-Terrorist Unit within the Argentinian Attorney General’s Office and team leader of the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center bombing investigation. Aurora Ortega, U.S. government professional and Ph.D. candidate at George Mason University. Breaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule is hosted by 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, Lauren von Thaden, and Camille Jablonski, research assistants at The Washington Institute. 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.

Preview Season 2 of Breaking Hezbollah's Golden Rule, a podcast series devoted to shining a bright light on the global terrorist and criminal activities that Lebanese Hezbollah would much prefer to keep quiet. Coming soon to your favorite podcatcher. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On June 1, 2017, U.S. authorities arrested two Hezbollah sleeper agents. The operatives had created targeting packages with ready-to go-plans for possible attacks, in the event Iranian or Hezbollah leaders deemed them necessary. They traveled on their American passports when Hezbollah sent them on missions in Asia and South America. Where were their targets? Who was their handler? And what were they sent to do abroad?Guests: Mitchell Silber, former director of intelligence analysis, NYPDRebecca Weiner, assistant commissioner for intelligence analysis, NYPDEmil Bove, former co-chief for national security, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New YorkAmbassador Nathan Sales, former ambassador-at-large and coordinator for counterterrorism, State Department 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.

In July 2012, police arrested a well-trained Hezbollah operative named Hossam Yaacoub in Cyprus. Less than two weeks later, a Hezbollah suicide bomb killed 5 Israelis on a tourist bus in Burgas, Bulgaria. But the group wasn’t done in Cyprus. Another operative was stockpiling explosives—and waiting to act.Guests: Magnus Norell, senior policy advisor at The European Foundation for Democracy Carter Burwell, former counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Finance IntelligenceNickolay Mladenov, former Bulgarian minister of foreign affairs 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.

South America’s Tri-Border Area has been described as “the United Nations of crime.” Along the porous borders of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil, counterfeiters scheme, narco-traffickers move product and launder funds, and criminals sell fake or stolen goods on the open market. Since the 1980s, the area has also been a hotbed of Hezbollah criminal and terrorist activities. Nobody seemed to notice—until Hezbollah operatives carried out two bombings in under two years in Buenos Aires.Guests: Christian Vianna de Azevedo, special agent with the Brazilian Federal Police Mariano Federici, former head of Argentina’s Financial Intelligence Unit Robert Clifford, former FBI special agent  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.

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.