Origin Story—"Wild, Wild West Beirut"

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.

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