By Tony Duheaume
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are
those of the authors and do not reflect the viewpoint of Al Arabiya English.
The West has held itself back from confronting Iran for decades.
One reason for this has to be the dread of an Iranian fightback, which would
take the form of guerrilla warfare in a multitude of lands, including the US.
This fear would have been high in 2008, when intelligence experts warned of
Iranian sleeper cells poised to attack British targets, such as power stations,
military bases, government buildings. There were also fears about assassination
of high-profile figures, should the West go ahead and bomb Iranian nuclear
facilities.
Sleeper cells lie in wait
Such a scenario would make perfect sense, as with Iran not able
to match the West militarily in an all-out confrontation, the only way to
effectively fight back would be through asymmetric (unconventional) warfare.
One method of attack used in asymmetric warfare by the Iranian regime comes in
the form of covert action in foreign lands through the use of sleeper cells.
For decades, Hezbollah has been building up a network of sleeper cells in the
Middle East, Americas and Europe, and should it decide to wage an insurgent war
against any of its host countries, its military training would make it a very
formidable opponent.
These sleepers are expertly trained at Iran’s IRGC Quds Force
specialist training camps, where they master the art of penetrating civilian
groups. They are also taught how to recruit volunteers to aid their cause. In
their host countries, they would also have easy access to automatic weapons and
explosives, which can be supplied to them by criminal gangs involved in drugs
smuggling, people smuggling and arms trafficking operations.
As far as Hezbollah being aided by criminal gangs is concerned,
Britain is the perfect example of a country being at risk from the terror
group’s infiltration, as the Lebanese force was at one time well connected to
the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a one-time ethnic-Albanian paramilitary
group. Although “disbanded” after the Bosnian conflict, the KLA was merged into
a civilian group known as the Kosovo Protection Corps, while many other former
members had ventured into building a worldwide criminal empire.
Hezbollah’s tentacles
At the end of the Bosnian conflict, during which the KLA
committed numerous atrocities,ex-members had become involved in the Albanian
mafia, and having settled in England, their British arm fast set up a powerful
criminal empire stretching across the full-length of thecountry, and across Europe.What
makes the KLA so dangerous as far as Britain is concerned,are the very strong
links it made with Iran by being trained at Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Quds
Force training facilities during the Bosnian War, where the fighters of the
Albanian group bonded extremely well with Hezbollah factions who were fighting
alongside them at the time.
With the two groups still having strong connections due to their
dealings in drugs trade, it would be quite conceivable for the Albanian mafia
to be more than willing to supply Hezbollah cells with weapons. In such an
event, with the Albanians having a long-established smuggling route into
Britain, which extends back to their homeland, and is now a well-tried route
for smuggling people, weapons and drugs, they would have no qualms about
supplying weapons to any sleeper cell connected to Hezbollah.
With Hezbollah heavily entrenched in South America, it has made
lucrative deals with some of Latin America’s most powerful drug barons, and
through its dealings with the KLA swaps heroin from Afghanistan with cocaine
from South America, turning the two groups into one of Europe’s main sources of
cocaine, making untold millions in profit for them both, and a hefty sum for
the IRGC Quds Force which aids them. With Hezbollah also operating from
countries that despise America, it can obtain arms on a vast scale, which turns
the terror group into a very dangerous entity, perched precariously close to
the US border.
America has a lot to fear from Hezbollah. Intelligence sources
have already pointed to a Hezbollah presence in the US, when as far back as
2110 the Tucson Police Department reported a heavy presence of Hezbollah
operatives in the prison system, and how other inmates were being radicalised
during their stay. With their long-standing partnership with some of Mexico’s
toughest drug lords, they have access to the US through drug routes and
intelligence has already pointed to sleeper cells being set up in various
American states.
It also has to be remembered, groups of Hezbollah operatives can
easily enter countries under the guise of asylum seekers, and with millions of
refugees having fled the violence in Syria, Iraq, various other hotspots in the
Middle East, and a multitude of conflicts in North Africa — all places where
Hezbollah operates quite freely. It would thus be easy for the Iranian Quds
Force to infiltrate what would be a very small number of operatives into any
targeted country, and with the Quds Force expertise behind such an operation,
their entry would be assured.
Dormant Trojans
These operatives, experts at concealing their identity and
allegiance, lie low and settle quietly into their host community, avoiding any
activities that make them stand out.Showing themselvesto be moderates, they
avoid political conversations. They are polite and friendly when approached,
while many hide behind the guise of being happily married men with children.
Gradually making friends, portraying themselves as avid supporters of community
projects, they regularly attend mosques, representing themselves as devout
Muslims, which enables them to pick further potential recruits, and eventually
a sleeper cell is up and running.
Over the years, a complex web of several types of organizations
has been set up by the Quds Force, and operated from local Iranian embassies.
They are designed to support sleepers entering a foreign land. Support networks
tend to be manned by middle aged professionals from varied groups and organizations.
They could be active members of aid organisations, they could work for human
rights groups, they could be university lecturers, they could run import and
export companies; but all will be “cleanskins” – people with no criminal
convictions who can stay below the radar.
With Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security also having
setup a network of front companies across the globe, many Hezbollah operatives
have been able to stay below the radar of any given country’s intelligence
agency. Due to the terror group’s agents having access to these companies, they
take on the role of legitimate employees, and are able to move with relative
impunity from one country to another.Using this as a cover, they can carry out
terrorist acts, or spy on the mullah’s perceived enemy’s military facilities or
infrastructure, reconnoitring targets in readiness for when the order comes
from Tehran to strike, setting off a worldwide confrontation.
Iran stokes protests in Bahrain
Over the years, one country in the Middle East that has felt the
brunt of Hezbollah attacks is Bahrain, which has often faced protests whipped
up by Iranian affiliated political groups. In March of this year, Bahrain
authorities announced it had uncovered an international terrorist cell,
arresting 25 suspects, and having confiscated machine guns and explosives from
the group. It came to light that several members of the cell were due to
receive training in explosives and firearms at Iranian Revolutionary Guard
camps.
With Bahrain’s Shiite opposition Al Wefaq, accused of
instigating unrest in 2011, the Bahraini government picked up intelligence of a
Hezbollah presence on the streets, whose activists were seen to be stirring up
rioters, and during this period of unrest, broadcasts were coming through Hezbollah’s
radio network, egging the protestors on.
With Hezbollah being financed by the Iranian regime, it would
never make such moves without the blessing of its Iranian backers, and with
sleeper cells long known to be present in both Bahrain and its close neighbour
Saudi Arabia, with both states being viewed inimically by the Iranian regime,
it all points to Tehran being behind the Bahrain riots.
Where Hezbollah is concerned, they have formed themselves into a
formidable underground army. They are well financed by the Iranian regime and
are supplied with all of the resources they need to conduct guerrilla
warfare.While lying low in Shiite communities throughout the world, their
sleeper cells remain comatose, waiting for the moment the order comes through
from their Iranian puppet masters to awaken them.
This article was first
published by Al Arabiya English
Comments
Post a Comment