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Lightning Out of Lebanon: Hezbollah Terrorists on American Soil

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I was particularly interested in this book because I live reasonably close to Charlotte, North Carolina, and I remember being pretty surprised at the news in 2000 that a cigarette-smuggling ring of Hezbollah operatives had been broken up in the Queen City. My interest waned fairly quickly, though, as I thought of the suspects as criminals rather than terrorists. Back before 2001, you just didn't think about terrorists planning to take their murderous jihad to American soil - especially North Carolina. Of course, such perceptions changed after 9/11, and the story of law enforcement's success in crippling this particular terror cell is of paramount interest to me now. Lightning Out of Lebanon: Hezbollah Terrorists on American Soil is a real eye-opener. Besides making an unassailable case that Hezbollah terror cells are operating within numerous United States cities right now, it shows just how lax and inefficient our counterterrorism efforts were and still are, how uncooperative "friendly" governments can be in terrorist matters, and how obscenely easy it has been for terrorists to gain illegal entry into the country and establish themselves here. The ring leader of the Charlotte Hezbollah cell even secured a government small business loan to aid him in his money-raising efforts. The book is also inspirational and hopeful, however, as it shows how effective our law enforcement and security agents can be when they work together as equals.

This is not just the story of the Charlotte Hezbollah cell; Lightning Out of Lebanon gives an insightful overview of Hezbollah itself - its history, tactics, and deadly potential. According to the authors, Hezbollah is potentially much more dangerous than Al Qaeda because it is much more efficient, disciplined, and organized. And Hezbollah is most certainly here in America - in numerous cities from coast to coast. Today, these terrorists may only be engaging in criminal activities as a means for raising blood money, but tomorrow, at just a word from their bosses in Lebanon and Iran, they could awaken and commit terrible acts of mass murder and destruction in our very heartland.

It is infuriating to see just how easily a Hezbollah cell such as the one in Charlotte could prosper. These terrorists' secret has always been to fly under the radar and to engage in criminal activities that, in and of themselves, don't seem to be all that substantial. Smuggling cigarettes from North Carolina to tax-happy Michigan was unlikely to generate much more than a slap on the wrist (or to generate too much concern from potential Tarheel juries). Immigration Services were so prostrate and overloaded that the bad guys didn't even have to make fake IDs and personal documents - they could easily get them from agencies such as the DMV and Social Security themselves. The Charlotte ring leaders had multiple IDs provided by these official agencies. Multiple fake marriages were rarely discovered, providing terrorists with an easy way to remain in the country. The whole situation would be funny if it weren't so disastrously pathetic. In many ways, the Charlotte cell ran its operations from a Domino's Pizza establishment and even got a number of unscrupulous American acquaintances to take part in their nefarious crimes - Mohammed Hammoud's American wife, for example, came to serve as the true mastermind behind the group's highly profitable criminal schemes.

Fortunately, a number of dedicated law enforcement officials and prosecutors weeded out the true nature of Hammoud's organization - but it wasn't easy. It is always shocking to go back and see just how hamstrung our nation's defenders were before 9/11 thanks to the "China Wall" erected between criminal investigators and intelligence agents. You can't win many games when your own teammates aren't allowed to speak to one another. It took a man of daring and vision to get around that wall and get something done. FBI man Bob Clifford was such a man, and his strategy of deliberate aggressiveness proved very successful in the Charlotte case (despite Janet Reno's great concern over violating the civil rights of the terrorists). Clifford and his team even managed to secure the cooperation of Canadian law enforcement in developing evidence for the trial in question. Winning foreign cooperation was and is a rare achievement. This book recounts a number of cases where supposedly friendly governments such as France and Italy not only protected wanted terrorists from American justice, they actually let them escape to kill another day. One of the Charlotte Hezbollah cell members is sitting fat and happy in Vancouver because the Canadians won't extradite him. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

This book really is a history of both Hezbollah terrorism and recent counterterrorism efforts of the United States. Both the culture of the Lebanese hotbed of Hezbollah recruiting and the culture of US intelligence/law enforcement agencies are penetrated with great insight and objectivity by the authors. For every murderous terrorist in this story, there is a determined American hero who overcame great obstacles (most of which were put in place by the U.S. government itself) to truly save the day and make America a little bit safer.

This book is a less than gentle reminder of the incredible threat terrorists still pose to Western democracies, especially the United States. Hezbollah, the authors pretty much prove, may well be a bigger threat than Al Qaeda - and that's a pretty disturbing revelation. Having revealed all of the weaknesses of past counterterrorism efforts, the authors conclude by putting forth a number of recommendations on how to better reform a system that is still broken. There could not be a more timely and perhaps more important read than Lightning Out of Lebanon - especially for those who unwittingly aid the terrorists by putting the civil liberties of fanatical Islamist killers over the security concerns of this country in a time of war. This book provides ample evidence that we must do more, not less, to protect ourselves from the bloodthirsty killers of Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups.

This is a highly informative little book on Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist organization with a global reach. The authors detail the history of religious conflict in Lebanon, the birth of Hezbollah out of the early 1980s Lebanon Civil War, and the role of the Iranian government in financing and facilitating Hezbollah's illicit deeds. They review well chronicled tales of Hezbollah terrorist attacks on US interests abroad - most famously, the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing and the Kohbar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia in 1996 - and against Israel. They also tell us a great deal about Hezbollah's extensive operations in South America's lawless Tri-Border Region (the area bordering Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil) and its deadly attacks on the Israeli embassy (1992) and a Jewish community center (1994) in Buenos Aires. The experience in Argentina, the authors say, illustrates how Hezbollah operatives infiltrate a foreign country and establish support cells that can be activated with lethal effect whenever the leaders in Lebanon or their Iranian sponsors deem it in their interests.

In the U.S., the authors focus on Hezbollah support cells in Charlotte, NC and Dearborn, MI, although they identify at least 14 US cities where the terrorist organization is known to be active. The support cells engage in various criminal enterprises to raise funds for Hezbollah. In Charlotte, the illicit activity of choice was smuggling cigarettes into parts of Michigan in order to avoid heavy local sales taxes. This cost Michigan taxpayers some $3.7 million in lost tax revenue, much of which found its way to Hezbollah's coffers in Lebanon. In order to break up the nefarious ring, the authors show how the FBI, ATF and local law enforcement officials had to overcome ill-considered Federal laws strictly limiting cooperation between intelligence and criminal branches, and a timid, don't-rock-the-boat mentality that held sway prior to September 11th. The so-called "Chinese Wall" erected by Congress in 1978 and reinforced and heightened by Janet Reno's Deputy Jamie Gorelick (later a 9/11 Commission member) comes in for stinging criticism.

This book is especially timely now with the Cedar Revolution unfolding in Lebanon and Hezbollah vying for political legitimacy and international recognition. It will provide any reader with a better understanding of one of the world's most lethal terror networks.

What are Hezbollah terrorists doing in the United States? Why are they in Charlotte, Dearborn, New York City, Newark, Boston, Chicago, Louisville, Houston, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland? And why are they engaged in criminal activities there?

This book explains some of the answers about who they are, how they get here, and what many of them do once they are here. And it explains, suspense and all, how a cell of terrorists in Charlotte was rounded up.

The moral of this tale is simple. We could have stopped the 9/11 terrorists a couple of times, had we simply allowed our intelligence people and crime investigators to cooperate. We will need to be prepared for more terror. And unless we do something to prevent it, one day there will be an even bigger disaster.

We are vulnerable to attacks on our food, water, power, and transportation. "The biggest threat to our civil liberties is our continuing inability to deal with the threat [of terrorism] in a reasonable time." Obviously, if several hundred thousand Americans were to die in one or more terrorist attacks, both that and our response to it would reduce our liberties severely.

Here are the concluding recommendations, some of which may seem a little repetitive, of this rather exciting and thought-provoking book:

* Realize that a determined army of radical Islamists long ago declared war on America

* Realize that Hezbollah is in the front rank of this army

* Avoid making scapegoats of our law enforcement and intelligence agenicies as institutions

* Put handcuffs on the terrorists, not the law enforcement agencies

* Understand as a nation that the goals of those agents who hunt terrorists is not to harm the innocent but to catch and convict the guilty

* Do a better job of controlling our borders

* Come up with a consistent national form of secure identification

* Study the "trip wires" of organized terrorism so that we will know when they are being triggered

* Integrate our vulnerability to terror into our national thinking

* Honor those in law enforcement and counterterrorism who combat the terrorists

I'm not sure exactly what we ought to do. But I think this is a great time to decide, before some major attacks hurt us and also panic us into making quick decisions that we may later regret.

Most Americans by now know of but how many know of Hezbollah and what it is and what it does? How many know who Mohammed Youssef Hammoud is? How many know how Special Forces, FBI, Dominos Pizza, cigarettes, Canada are connected? Al Qaeda and Usama Bin Laden are well known, but they are not, if one reads this book, the ones we should be worried about. What do these cities Charlotte, Dearborn, New York City, Newark, Boston, Chicago, Louisville, Houston, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland have in common and why should you be worried? Can we say 'terror cells'?

The authors are not some right wing or left wing nut people, but authors with reputable credentials and a sense of patriotism that is so refreshing. The way they talk about how so many in the FBI are willing to not only make lousy pay, but love this country enough that they are willing to die for it, speaks volumes. Also made me mad, because it seems that the higher ups in the FBI as well as the White House, don't seem to give much of a damn.

This book is a must read for anyone who doesn't want their head in the sand, and who wants mature, thought provoking reading material that will make them think and hopefully push for some real action.

And if you ever have the chance to hear the authors speak either in person on on C-SPAN you wont be disappointed.

I will never forget this book. It is about a Hezbollah terrorist cell which was primarily a criminal enterprise operating in the U.S. sending money back to the Middle East. I actually heard about the book on NPR of all places.

One of the leaders entered on a phony passport from South America. Even though security is better since 9/11, this book reveals the incompetence of government in allowing illegals to obtain multiple identities. A couple of years ago I played golf by chance with an retired FBI agent who worked counter terrorism out of DC. He said there was a Hezbollah cell in every major city. Not sure they have the firepower to do much damage, but we will see one day.

The leafy suburbs of Charlotte, N.C. seem an unlikely place for a Hezbollah base of operations. Yet it was there that a group of Shia Lebanese emigres gathered in a home to watch videos proclaiming "death to America."

Readability is a hallmark of this book, which recounts how U.S. federal and local law enforcement collaborated to break up the Hezbollah Charlotte cell. Members were using seemingly innocuous cigarette smuggling and other illicit activities to raise massive amounts of funds for Hezbollah. U.S. investigators arrested several members in July 2000, with guilty verdicts being handed down in late June 2002.

Authors Barbara Newman and Tom Diaz present the legal and bureaucratic obstacles that investigators faced when trying to prosecute the Hezbollah cell. One was the FBI's "Chinese Wall," a series of restrictions that prevented information sharing between agents working on criminal cases, and those dealing with terrorism. In the Charlotte case, aggressive investigators were able to craft innovative means to skirt these obstacles and break up the cell.

The authors argue that tough, aggressive measures are needed to combat terrorists on American soil, and believe that these can be effective without damaging the liberties that Americans hold most dear.

They make a number of other important claims, some of which were corroborated in the U.S. government's 9/11 Commission report. One is that notwithstanding sectarian differences, there is extensive cooperation between Sunni and Shia terror groups, including Al Qaida and Hezbollah.

Beyond alerting Americans to the presence of terrorists on our soil, this book is a valuable contribution to the debate on how we should deal with the problem. U.S. government officials at home and abroad would do well to read it, and reflect on it.

Obviously the vast majority of Arab-Americans, Muslims included, are peaceful, upstanding citizens who make a vital contribution to American diversity, in-tune with our immigrant heritage. Yet this book is an eerie reminder that hostile groups do exist, retaining a lethal ability to strike. Hezbollah's strong ties to Iran make this an especially disturbing possibility. As the authors note, Hezbollah's 1992 and 1994 Argentina attacks on Jewish interests also sent a clear message to the U.S.: we can do in America what we did here.

Those who want to do us harm will always have the advantage of exploiting our society's freedoms. Yet one hopes that the lessons of the Charlotte case and the 9/11 attacks will lead American authorities to increase their vigilance and aggressiveness without destroying civil liberties. Barbara Newman and Tom Diaz believe this balance is possible.

This book would have been stronger, and more credible, with more substantiation. To take one example, the authors assert that Hezbollah perpetrated the 1996 Khobar Towers attack in eastern Saudi Arabia. While this is a highly probable claim, there is no definitive proof that establishes Hezbollah's involvement, as far as I know. If there is documentation or testimony that would lend weight to the claim, the authors should have cited it. Otherwise, they should have acknowledged the ambiguity involved.

This is one of the many books available which describes the many ways in which the Islamic world is at war with the West. Israel in the midst of Islamic countries is under constant attack. Until the origen of Israel Jews were living in moslem countries for centuries but only as "dhimmies" a hated and persecuted minority. Moslems simply can not accept the fact that Jews could defeat them in battle. They believe that American soldiers in Israeli uniforms have defeated them, certainly not Jews.
Lightening Out of Lebanon is only one of many good books which explain the Middle East and what we can expect to get even worse.

While I respect the authors and the research which they did in order to complete this book, I feel that it is yet another "Scare Tactic" type book which not only perpetuates this sense of fear and of "demons lurking around every corner" that is so prevalent in America today, but it also demonizes Arabs, Muslims and Arab countries.

The book mentions frequently a village named Bourj-al-Birajneh, and describes it to be a very dirty, horrible village, that is filled with smells of stale urine and garbage. It makes this village seem barbaric,filthy and uninhabitable. This is completely false and is nothing more than pure propaganda designed to paint an image for the reader of a demon barbaric "Other" who should be feared.

I have BEEN to this village, and spent time visiting family in Beirut, which is nearby Bourj-al-Birajneh. I have traveled extensively throughout the entire Middle East,and in every village, city, and country which I have visited, I have met the most giving, generous, and hospitable people.

Yes, this village mentioned in the book is very impoverished.... but usually, places that have very little money and have experienced a decade+ long civil war usually are run down. Note my sarcasm and eye roll. However, unlike the authors would like us to believe, the people of this village are not barbarians. They are some of the most hospitable people that I have ever met. People who do not even know you welcome you into their homes, and offer you of what they have to drink and to eat.

As far as the mentions of Hezbollah terror cells on American soil,I think this is just another scare tactic meant to make the average American afraid of anyone Muslim or Arab. And do you realize what happens when you give in to this fear? You allow people/groups such as Al-Qaida to accomplish their goals, and that is to instill fear in people.

I am more afraid to go into any inner-city American city than I am to walk in Bourj-al-Birajneh, or any Arab town for that matter.

(...)

Are there individuals in the U.S. who sympathize with and support Hizballah? Yes.

The authors of this wild-eyed sensationalist work make the jump from this to warning that around every corner, or rather behind every Arab-owned business, is a terror cell ready to unleash a second 9/11 on American soil.

I'm happy to eat my hat if there's a terrorist attack in the U.S. that can be CLEARLY TRACED BACK to Hizballah. Until that time, though, I'd say that this book does more to blur the lines than connect the dots.