HIZB' ALLAH IN LEBANON Hizb'allah in Lebanon The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis Magnus Ranstmp Department of International Relations University of St Andrews Fife Foreword by Terry Waite, CBE pal grave macmillan © Magnus Ranstorp 1997 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1997 978-0-333-64700-4 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her rights to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 1997 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 978-0-333-68401-6 ISBN 978-0-230-37750-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230377509 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Transferred to digital printing 2002 Published in the United States of America 1997 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-16288-7 (cloth) ISBN 978-0-312-16491-1 (paperback) This book is dedicated to my grandparents, Carl and Ester Ranstorp and to my father Per, for never doubting and for the opportunities ... Contents Preface X Foreword by Terry Waite, CBE xiii 1 Introduction 1 The Definition of Hostage-Taking 4 Hostage-Taking in Lebanon as a Form of Foreign Policy Crisis 6 Crisis Management and Its Application to Hostage-Crises 12 Requirements of Crisis Management 16 Methodological Approach 18 Literature Review 21 2 Background to the Formation of the Hizb'allah in Lebanon 25 Introduction 25 The NajafBackground ofHizb'allah 25 The Influence of Israel's 1982 Invasion for the Creation of Hizb'allah 30 The Establishment and Expansion of Hizb' allah 33 Phase 1: The Establishment of Hizb'allah in the Biq'a 34 Phase II: Hizb'allah's Expansion Into Beirut 36 Phase III: Hizb'allah's Expansion Into Southern Lebanon 38 The Ideo logical Foundation of the Hizb' allah 40 Ideology and Structure 41 Hizb'allah's Pan-Islamic Ideology and Strategy 49 Liberation of Jerusalem 49 Establishment of an Islamic Republic in Lebanon 51 Liberation of Lebanon from Foreign Presence and Influence 53 Creation of Wider Islamic Community Beyond Lebanon's Borders 55 Conclusions 58 3 Hizb'allah and the Hostage-Crisis Within Lebanon 60 Introduction 60 Use ofCovernames and Concealment by Hizb'allah in Abduction of Foreigners 62 Hizb' allah's Command Leadership 65 Bekaa Valley 65 Beirut 66 vii viii Contents Southern Lebanon 66 Hizb'allah's Decision-Making: the Majlis al-Shura and the Majlis al-Shura al-Karar 67 Special Security Apparatus 68 The Nature of Clerical Factionalism Within Hizb'allah 69 Hizb'allah's Relationship with Iranian Clergy and Institutions 78 The Role of Ali-Akbar Mohtashemi 79 Ayatollah Montazeri and the Office of Islamic Liberation Movements 80 Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 81 Martyrs' Foundation and Foundation of the Oppressed 82 The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (Pasdaran) 84 Iran and the Hostage-Taking 85 The Abduction of Foreigners by the Hizb' allah 86 First Phase: July 1982-February 1984 88 Second Phase: March 1984-January 1985 91 Third Phase: March 1985-June 1985 93 Fourth Phase: February 1986-May 1986 96 Fifth Phase: September 1986-0ctober 1986 98 Sixth Phase: January 1987-January 1988 99 Seventh Phase: February 1988-January 1989 100 Eighth Phase: April 1989-April 1991 103 Ninth Phase May 1991-December 1992 105 Cc.nclusions 108 4 The Influence of the Iranian-Syrian Relationship on the Hizb'allah 110 Introduction IIO The Basis of the Iranian-Syrian Relationship Ill Phase I: Iranian-Syrian Co-operation Against Common Enemies (1982-85) ll6 Phase II: Increased Iranian-Syrian Rivalry Over Hizb'allah (1985-92) 119 Conclusions 130 5 Western Responses to the Hostage-Crisis and Crisis Management 134 Introduction 134 Crisis Management: The Limitation of Political Objectives 135 American Hostages 137 French Hostages 140 British Hostages 141 Contents ix Crisis Management: The Limitation of Means in Pursuit of Objectives 143 The Utility of Military Force 144 Military Rescue Operations 146 The Political, Economic and Legal Options 149 The Legal Approach 154 Accurate and Timely Intelligence on Adversary and Crisis 156 Maintenance of Communication Channels with Adversary 160 French Negotiations 161 American Negotiations 164 British Negotiations 168 Functioning Machinery to Limit Effects of Crisis 171 Broad Platform of Support for Measures 174 Consideration of Precedent Effect of Crisis Behaviour 176 6 Conclusions 178 Introduction 178 The Case-Study on Hizb'allah 179 The Influence of Iranian-Syrian Relations on Hizb' a1lah 188 Conclusion 190 Western Responses to the Hostage-Crisis in Lebanon: Effectiveness of Crisis-Management Techniques 195 Notes 207 Select Bibliography 241 Index 249 Preface The picturesque Scottish seaside town of St. Andrews would seem unlikely to naturally lend itself to the study of religious fundamentalism in any form. Yet, the historical remnants of this medieval town today, which predate the origins of the University of St. Andrews in 1411, bear witness to a period of fervent religious fundamentalism at the heart of the town's existence, whose first victim of the Scottish reformation became the mar­ tyred university student Patrick Hamilton. Any sen&e of detachment from the study of religious fundamentalism was also lost with the discovery of my belonging to the University's college of St. Leonard, the patron saint of hostages adopted by noblemen and soldiers away on the Crusades, most notably Bohemund, the first prince of Antioch, who were held captive in Muslim hands in the battles between Christendom and Islam in the Middle Ages. NotWithstanding the power of saints to those unjustly imprisoned and forgotten as hostages in solitary confinement for several years, the release of hostages either during the Crusades or in contemporary Lebanon depended not only on the importance of the hostages as a bargaining instrument but also on an ability and a willingness by the political masters at home to pay a ransom for their release. While the abduction of Bohemund during the Crusades embodied an effort by Islam to contain militant Christendom from recovering the holy place of Jerusalem from Muslim rule, the abduction of Westerners in Lebanon encapsulated the resurgence of a wider pan-Islamic effort to expel foreigners from the region in an attempt to liberate Jerusalem under non-Islamic control. The practice of hostage-taking has an old tradition in the Middle East, dating back to the early days of the Crusades. However, contemporary Western efforts to understand or deal with the hostage-incidents in Lebanon have been a surprising failure given that the "rules of the game" for the resolu­ tion of the hostage-crisis have changed little since Bohemund's days. Both the West's fear and inability to comprehend the enemy's willingness to sacrifice their own lives was also surprising given our own practice of martyrdom during the Crusades. Despite the many historical parallels, this book focuses on the inner dynamics of the Hizb'allah (the Party of God), one of the mos~ important, yet least understood, terrorist organisations in the Middle East, whose activity has wrecked havoc for Western governments for over a decade. The main aim of this study is not only to contribute to a fuller understand­ ing of the labyrinthine complexity of the dynamics of the hostage-crisis in X Preface xi Lebanon but also to bridge the gap between a detailed case-study of a ter­ rorist group as well as its relationship with Iran and Syria, and the evalu­ ation of Western government responses to this form of foreign policy crisis. This approach is necessary in order to more closely resolve the fundamen­ tal dilemma of the duty by Western democratic states to protect their citi­ zens taken hostage abroad without any major sacrifice in the conduct of foreign policy. In this task, an understanding of the mechanisms governing the behaviour of one of the most complex and secretive terrorist organisa­ tions in the Middle East as well as the constraints and opportunities in the crisis environment within which the American, French, and British gov­ ernment have been forced to operate, is a step in the right direction. While beyond the scope of this study, it is essential to recognize that the Western hostages have unfairly received public and media exposure especially since over I 0,000 Lebanese nationals became innocent victims and pawns in the warfare between the various indigenous militins in a particularly cruel and tragic hostage affair since many of these are still missing and unaccount­ able for despite the end of the Lebanese civil war. A project of this magnitude could not have been completed without the assistance of patient and supportive colleagues, friends and family, to whom I would like to publicly express my gratitude to for services beyond any call of duty or responsibility. I am deeply grateful and indebted to staff and colleagues at the Department of International Relations, University of St. Andrews, who have offered invaluable ideas, criticism and suggestions.