Word: hizballah
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...placed on the leadership council of Lebanon's Shi'ite militant group Hizballah by Ayatollah Khomeini when the group was founded in 1982. Mousavi does not recognize Israel, though he has condemned the Holocaust...
...that brought Hizballah worldwide infamy came the following year: the 1983 suicide bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 American servicemen - the largest single-day death toll for the Marine Corps since Iwo Jima. The eventual U.S. pullout from Beirut in 1984 was seen as Hizballah's first "victory" -strengthening their credibility within Lebanon as an organization that could truly bring about change...
...After Israel assassinated the movement's leader, Abbas al-Mussawi, in 1992, Nasrallah took over as the group's secretary-general. Capitalizing on its growing clout among sympathetic Lebanese and claiming a spot under the ideological umbrella of Iran's ayatollah, Nasrallah entered Hizballah into Lebanon's general election that year; the group won eight parliamentary seats, solidifying its legitimacy. Meanwhile, the group continued its steady stream of attacks against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon until Barak, then Prime Minister, ordered their withdrawal in 2000 - allowing Hizballah to proclaim the achievement of their 18-year mission...
...Hizballah's success has won it support from many sides: its reputation as the most successful anti-Israeli military group in the Middle East has won support from Arab nationalists and the backing of Iran and Syria. Meanwhile, many Lebanese Shi'as revere Hizballah for its social and educational-development programs. Many Western governments, meanwhile, consider it a terrorist group; it was placed on the U.S. State Department's terrorist list in 1999. Lebanon's ruling March 14th coalition has also blamed the organization for destabilizing the region and unnecessarily embroiling Lebanon in a near-30-year conflict with Israel...
...blood between Hizballah and the government has continued in the runup to the 2009 election. A 2008 dispute over accusations that Hizballah was using its telecommunications systems for terrorist purposes led to deadly brawls and riots in the street. And while both groups seem poised to continue in their current roles following Lebanon's latest elections, there's no indication Hizballah will take the defeat lying down. "We consider that Lebanon is ruled by partnership, and whatever the results of the elections are, we cannot change the standing delicate balances or repeat the experiences of the past," noted Hizballah lawmaker...