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Hezbollah: A Short History.

Article Excerpt
Hezbollah: A Short History, by Augustus Richard Norton. Princeton University Press, 2007. 187 pages. $16.95, hardcover.

Several years ago, the U.S. deputy secretary of state at the time, Richard L. Armitage claimed that "Hezbollah may be the A team of terrorists," while "maybe al-Qaeda is actually the B team." In March 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning Hezbollah (Party of God) for its terrorist activities and encouraging the European Union to classify it as a terrorist organization. In March 2008, the U.S. administration was quick to accuse Hezbollah of attempting to stage an armed coup against the Western-backed Sinoira government of Lebanon, which had tried to shut down Hezbollah's private telecommunications network and had removed the pro-Hezbollah head of the Beirut airport. After an 18-month stand-off between pro-government and opposition politicians, an agreement was reached in Doha, Qatar, on May 21, 2008, that ended Lebanon's crisis. The brokered deal has been characterized as a major victory for Hezbollah, since it was granted an effective veto over policy with a so-called "blocking third" of cabinet seats.

Is this party-cum-militia as dangerous as it is made out to be? And why have U.S. officials sounded alarmist tones about the supposed threat it poses? Is it rhetoric, deep-seated suspicion or a lack of understanding? August Richard Norton interprets these and other relevant matters in this comprehensive primer about Hezbollah. While there are a number of informative studies on Hezbollah, this stands out as...

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