Clear and present danger? Hezbollah threat to US uncertain

Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security delivers an opening statement March 21 at a full committee hearing entitled: "Iran, Hezbollah, and the Threat to the Homeland."

03-21-2012

Connect with the Committee:
http://twitter.com/househomeland
http://facebook.com/househomeland

Whether Hezbollah poses a threat to the United States remains unclear despite Rep. Peter King's warning that the Iranian-backed terror group may have thousands of supporters in America, Reuters reports.

“We know Hezbollah operatives are here,” King, R-N.Y., said March 21 as he opened a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on “Iran, Hezbollah, and the Threat to the Homeland.” King, the committee chairman, warned that officials estimated thousands of Hezbollah agents could be in the country.


He also went on CNN to say Hezbollah “is the ‘A’ team of international terrorism — far more sophisticated than al-Qaida."

But Reuters said that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials and private experts, while concluding there is a threat, say “whether it is imminent or extensive is far from clear.”

Concern over Hezbollah's operations comes amid a growing confrontation over Iran's nuclear program, Reuters said.

An attack on Iran’s nuclear sites could prompt Hezbollah to launch retaliatory attacks on Israel as well as the United States, where most of its activities have been fund-raising and surveillance, officials told Reuters. But there is a big difference between being a Hezbollah supporter and someone who would be willing to engage in violent activity, officials told Reuters.

Read the full Reuters report here.

Video: Strike on Iran could prompt Hezbollah attack within U.S.

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Discuss this post

Jim Marshall, a true God of Thunder. Rest in peace.

  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 7:55 PM EDT

Have fun jamming with Jimi and Elvis.

  • 1 vote
#1.1 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 8:01 PM EDT
Reply

Hezbolah is growing more and more isolated. You know how animals act when cornered. I consider them a large threat. But, they are focusing on Al Qaida right now in Syria. Shiite vs. Sunni. They are probably helping Assad track down Sunnis that escaped the shelling.

  • 2 votes
Reply#2 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 7:59 PM EDT

LEROY2112,you look like one of those sunni wahabi who is influenced by the saudi terrorists.

  • 3 votes
#2.1 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 9:48 PM EDT

I love Wasabi. Hmmm, California roll.

  • 1 vote
#2.2 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 10:13 PM EDT

HEY Leroy , when did SYRIA ,IRAN , OR Hezbollah ever threatened us , we always interfere in these countries business , ask Congressman KING why he so much against these people and he wont tell you the real reason , he is always looking after ISRAEL interest that's whats wrong with most of our politician they look after ISRAEL business before the US because either they are Jews or they are getting paid by the Jewish lobbies here , sorry to hurt your feeling guys , and for the one who do not believe me just read and educate yourself , these countries have never done anything to the US , and ISRAEL attack these people bomb their homes and in SYRIA they bomb their nuke facilities so ISRAEL said but its OK , its ISRAEL they can do whatever they want I FORGOT they are GOD CHOSEN PEOPLE , I wonder where that's leave me , I am a christian i believe in Jesus Christ and they deny him , but they still are the chosen ones . strange , all I can say MONEY TALKS . ASK the SAUDIS AND THE GULF STATES , we tell rep. King to start worrying about our problem here because he does not look like he knows what he is talking about , after all REP. MICHELL BAUCKMAN sits on the foreign affairs committee ,and we saw how smart she is , she probably see IRAN from her back yard . its sad when people like that have the power to send our troops into harm ways , just like they did in IRAQ , these people should answer to the American people and to our troops , god bless our troops and god bless the USA .

  • 4 votes
#2.3 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 11:09 AM EDT

I like crunch rolls myself.

    #2.4 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 1:49 PM EDT

    Prior to 911, Hezbollah killed more Americans than any other Middle East Terrorist Organization.

    Hezbollah is aligned with Iran, which has supported terrorism in Iraq against US military personnel.

    Hezbollah has attacked Israel, the US's closest ally in the Middle East.

    • 3 votes
    #2.5 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 2:42 PM EDT

    Perhaps we shouldn't attack them FIRST, as we have been threatening to do for a while. When you attack people usually fight back.

    • 1 vote
    #2.6 - Sat Apr 7, 2012 2:21 PM EDT
    Reply

    "Homeland"

    Everytime I see that it brings memories of Nazi Germany.

    "Fatherland and Motherland"

    • 1 vote
    Reply#3 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 8:09 PM EDT

    So our government, which has BILLIONS in spending money for military and intelligence, can't decide if a terror group is a clear and present danger?

    They better make up their minds soon.

    • 1 vote
    Reply#4 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 8:50 PM EDT

    Any muslim is a clear and present danger!

      Reply#5 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 9:26 PM EDT

      So are most American members of Congress as they vote to extend their military empire into Africa. Fascists.

      • 5 votes
      #5.1 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 2:33 AM EDT

      I don't know about that. Ahab the Arab the shiek of the burning sun seems ok.

        #5.2 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 1:51 PM EDT
        Reply

        I am so sick of reading these Jewish propaganda pieces about how America is threatened by Israels enemies to get us to hate these folks and apply pressure on them to leave Israel alone. America should not be involved in supporting the Jewish theft of Palestinian lands or the Jewish and evangelical persecution of the Palestinian people. These acts commited by Jews, evangelicals, and christians towards the Palestinians are immoral and I do not appreciate my tax dollars being used for these purposes.

        • 6 votes
        Reply#6 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 9:37 PM EDT

        You just love bashing Jews. Don't you?

        • 5 votes
        #6.1 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 10:15 PM EDT

        Charlie.how many morally dyslexic people do we have to bear on newsvine.?You must have studied at a hezbollah summer camp or a mail order Iranian ayatollah propaganda course. The Iranians and hezbollah. hamas al quida and many more are international criminals and are on almost everyone terrorists list.The Muslims conquered most of the mideast by the sword and want to get rid of all other religions in the mideast.For you to talk about morality is a joke.Israel must be supported.That is the only moral choice against the genocidal neighbors that threaten them..Get real and stop turning everything upside down.The Arabs and Muslims are the agressors against Israel..,The U.S is very right on all levels to support Israel. Morally.politically and for the good of the whole world!! Fortunately most people there agree and not with your invented anti Israel stories!!

        • 5 votes
        #6.2 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 11:31 PM EDT

        Well stated Bart...and totally correct!

        • 2 votes
        #6.3 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 1:04 AM EDT

        America should not be involved in supporting the Jewish theft of Palestinian lands

        Charlie-1922285

        Charlie, whose land does your house sit on!

        • 1 vote
        #6.4 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 1:53 AM EDT

        Why does Israel get away with breaking UN resolutions and the US- having killed 100,000 Iraqis at a minimum from its own criminal invasion of Iraq now scream foul and whine about Syria? Because of Isreali proxy agents such as the pompous bloated faced Reichsmarschall Peter King.

        • 4 votes
        #6.5 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 2:40 AM EDT

        Because, Dou, the UN resolutions are almost as anti-Israeli and anti-American as you are, and we should make our own resolution to turn their building into condos. As for Peter King, he is an Irish-American.

        • 3 votes
        #6.6 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 8:09 AM EDT

        Peter King may be Irish, as he was a former supporter of the IRA, but he is also a supporter of the terrorist State of Israel.

        Right on Charlie - This article is nothing more than Israeli propaganda.

        Want to know why we are in Afghanistan and the real reason for the false flag attack on 9/11. - Read on.

        New Backing for Gas Line Through Asia

        By ANDREW E. KRAMER

        Published: December 11, 2010

        MOSCOW — A
        plan to build a regional natural gas pipeline across war-ravaged southern Afghanistan, long thought to be
        impractical
        given the dismal security there, moved a step closer to becoming
        a reality on Saturday.

        The leaders
        of Turkmenistan, Pakistan and
        Afghanistan and India’s energy minister signed a preliminary agreement in
        Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, to proceed with plans for the American-backed
        pipeline, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass and other regional media reported.

        United
        States officials hope that the line, called TAPI, will not only bolster
        Afghanistan’s economy by generating transit fees but will strengthen ties
        between the archrivals India and Pakistan.

        The
        pipeline, which would be about 1,080 miles long, would carry gas from
        Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan and into India.

        The
        agreement signed on Saturday, however, is just an early step in the pipeline
        project. The government backers of the plan have yet to secure financing for
        construction or to agree on commercial terms for the sales, according to news
        reports from Russia and Central Asia. The project’s cost estimates range from
        $3 billion to $10 billion.

        The
        agreement also does not address how the pipeline would be protected in Afghanistan’s
        Helmand and Kandahar Provinces, which have been Taliban
        strongholds. The Afghan government has said the pipeline would be buried and
        local communities would be paid to protect it.

        India and
        Pakistan now import energy, while Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth-largest
        reserves of natural gas. Users of the trans-Afghan pipeline would pay fees to
        the countries that it passes through, with Afghanistan being the largest
        beneficiary.

        Under the
        terms of the pact, Afghanistan could also benefit by withdrawing some of the
        gas as cheap fuel for electrical stations and heating.

        The project,
        as with so many other energy infrastructure works in the region, is deeply
        entwined with politics. The United States is backing the line as an alternative
        to the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India, or IPI, pipeline that would tap Iran’s
        large South Pars gas field.

        The United
        States deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Asia, Susan Elliott,
        told an energy conference in Turkmenistan last month that the TAPI pipe “would
        provide revenue and jobs for Afghanistan at a critical time in its economic
        development,” while helping to stabilize the wider region.

        Oil companies proposed the pipeline in 1995, but
        it dropped off their agenda after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan the
        following year. The plan was revived after the United States-led invasion of
        Afghanistan in 2001, and received backing from the Asian Development Bank,
        which financed feasibility studies.

        Iran can sell gas to India at a third the price of Turkmenistan. This is the ENTIRE
        issue. In Turkmenistan Israel holds the lease rights to sell this gas and US
        companies are building the pipeline called TAPI. This has gotten Iran upset and
        that is what the whole reason for petroleum sanctions. It is all about Israel.

        • 3 votes
        #6.7 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 10:58 AM EDT

        More on the above from this link: www.rense.com/general15/game.htm

        Pay attention to the last paragraph.

        • 1 vote
        #6.8 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 1:09 PM EDT

        Ralph H, since this IS Good Friday, why don't you tell us once again that the Jews killed Jesus...even though two Popes have renounced that idea, which was the very heart of historical Jew baiting like yours.

        • 2 votes
        #6.9 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 3:52 PM EDT

        The holiday island of Isla de Margarita, situated in the Caribbean Sea, has one of the most beautiful beaches of Venezuela and breathtaking scenery. It is here, on the island of exquisite hotels and a glamorous nightlife, that the US military's Southern Command has reported the presence of Hezbollah's support and logistics cells -- one of the most important centers of "terrorist gathering" and "money laundering activities" for Hezbollah.

        Hezbollah militants infiltrate into the U.S.

        The book, Threat Closer to Home by Douglas Schoen and Michael Rowan, reveals that the "hub of the hub" of Islamist terror in the America is Isla de Margarita. "The island has long been home to a large Lebanese expatriate population, and Hezbollah has had a foothold there for decades," the authors write. Lebanese expatriates in Isla de Margarita were involved in 1992 in helping Hezbollah militants to establish a terrorist cell in Charlotte, North Carolina, by infiltrating them into the U.S.

        http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/2285/isla-de-margarita-venezuela-hosts-hezbollah

        • 3 votes
        #6.10 - Sat Apr 7, 2012 12:21 PM EDT
        Reply

        I'm thinking that our military command has a plan , and i really think they do talk behind closed doors about

        Hezbolla , they arent going public with it tho .

        • 1 vote
        Reply#7 - Thu Apr 5, 2012 11:28 PM EDT

        I hate the term Homeland, Heartland, Southland and all of the other right wing phrases. These phrases are all buzz-phrases for we are better than you in the city!!

        How about calling us the USA.

        • 1 vote
        Reply#8 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 12:31 AM EDT

        From the article:

        “We know Hezbollah operatives are here,” King, R-N.Y., said March 21 as he opened a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on “Iran, Hezbollah, and the Threat to the Homeland.” King, the committee chairman, warned that officials estimated thousands of Hezbollah agents could be in the country.

        Doesn't that say it all? America needs to take whatever steps are necessary to eliminate this threat to both us and our allies whether right here in the U.S.A. or inside Hezbollahstan (formerly Lebanon).

        • 1 vote
        Reply#9 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 2:06 AM EDT

        Well Herr King should name them and get away from the typical right wing fear mongering without evidence. He is a bloated fascist windbag.

        • 2 votes
        #9.1 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 2:42 AM EDT

        typical right wing fear mongering

        The "right wing" is not the problem. Radical Islamists are the problem!

        • 1 vote
        #9.2 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 5:54 AM EDT
        Reply

        Both Congress and the President are aware of Hezbollah activities in Mexico and parts of South America. Both Congress & the President are briefied on this on a regular basis. In fact, of the illegals caught crossing over into America, 30% are not of Hispanic origin. They come from countries (and this is documented) such as Iraq, Cuba, Somalia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Russia, etc.

        These "30%" alone are clearly reasons why we need the government to do it's job to protect Americans from enemies both Foreign and Domestic.

        In Mexico, killing by beheading is now used. The types of bombings now being experienced are the same type used by Hezbollah and other Mid-Eastern terrorist organizations. Again, this is well documented by our government.

        • 1 vote
        Reply#10 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 2:33 AM EDT

        The US is the armed well financed invader in the Mideast and now in Africa. People have right to defend themselves from invasion and foreign armies.

        • 2 votes
        #10.1 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 2:46 AM EDT
        Reply

        The US is the armed well financed invader in the Mideast and now in Africa. People have right to defend themselves from invasion and foreign armies

        That should include the U.S.A. defending itself from the 911 attacks, which were indirectly supported through contributions from money-rich Saudi Arabia to the Whahabi religious "schools" which trained the terriorists who carried out that invasion of our territory!

        • 1 vote
        Reply#11 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 6:02 AM EDT

        Hezbollah carries out the guidelines of the Koran, which instructs its followers to kill infidels to guarantee passage to heaven.

        Moderate followers of Islam do not prescribe to these actions, but are complicit when it comes to those that do.

        And by the way, crucifixion is a prescribed method for followers of Islam to get rid of infidels.

        Happy Easter.

        • 3 votes
        Reply#12 - Fri Apr 6, 2012 2:46 PM EDT

        When the Fed building was blown up in Oklahoma City by two Americans. We dealt with it and moved on. With 9-11, we have spent billions and billions of dollars on two wars that we shouldn't of been in it. We have lost more Americans lives from these wars compared to 9-11. Look at our prison population in America, we have many bad people. We deal with it and move on. At what point do we learn from this?

        Let our CIA do their job of dealing with foreign affairs like it's been before 9-11. We have spent billions on Home Land Security in America. Let them deal with another problem in America and just move on.

          Reply#13 - Sat Apr 7, 2012 3:09 AM EDT

          Watch out for the Hezbollah operatives out of Dearbornistan, MI.

          • 2 votes
          Reply#14 - Sat Apr 7, 2012 12:08 PM EDT

          Obama is handling this by sending more free food to North Korea so they can eventually nuke US thus ending the threat of the Hezbollah.

            Reply#15 - Mon Apr 9, 2012 3:59 PM EDT
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