[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ds-1col clearfix\u0022\u003E\n\n  \n\n  \n  \u003Cp\u003EDespite its established record as a terrorist organization, Western governments and Western media present conflicting assessments of Hezbollah. While governments in both the U.S. and EU have designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, Western media outlets have been more hesitant about describing Hezbollah as such in view of its political role in Lebanon. Nonetheless, Western media will typically reference Hezbollah\u2019s terrorist activities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollowing the 1983 attacks against U.S. targets in Lebanon, Western media did not provide extensive coverage of Hezbollah until the 1990s, when the group was linked to a growing number of international attacks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the U.S. labels Hezbollah a terrorist organization, media coverage of the group largely replaces \u201cterrorist\u201d with \u201cmilitant.\u201d For example, \u003Cem\u003EReuters\u003C\/em\u003E uses the \u201cterrorist\u201d and \u201cterrorism\u201d labels only for quoted material. According to the \u003Cem\u003EReuters\u003C\/em\u003E handbook, \u201cTerrorism and terrorist should not be used as single words in inverted commas (e.g. terrorist) or preceded by so-called (e.g. a so-called terrorist attack) since that can be taken to imply that \u003Cem\u003EReuters\u003C\/em\u003E is making a value judgment\u2026 Terror as in terror attack or terror cell should be avoided on stylistic grounds.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ESean Maguire, \u201cWhen Does Reuters Use the Word Terrorist or Terrorism?\u201d Reuters, June 13, 2007, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/blogs.reuters.com\/reuters-editors\/2007\/06\/13\/when-does-reuters-use-the-word-terrorist-or-terrorism\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/blogs.reuters.com\/reuters-editors\/2007\/06\/13\/when-does-reuters-use-the-word-terrorist-or-terrorism\/\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Other Western news organizations appear to follow this example. A 2004 \u003Cem\u003EWashington Post\u003C\/em\u003E article on the U.S. designation of Hezbollah\u2019s \u003Cem\u003EAl-Manar\u003C\/em\u003E television station as a supporter of terrorism described Hezbollah as a \u201cLebanese militant group.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EMintz, \u201cU.S. Bans Al-Manar, Says TV Network Backs Terror.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E In 2006, a \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E report on Hezbollah\u2019s incursion into Israel, which left eight Israeli soldiers dead and two captured, described Hezbollah as a \u201cguerilla group.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EGreg Myre and Steven Erlanger, \u201cIsraelis Enter Lebanon After Attacks\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, July 13, 2006, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2006\/07\/13\/world\/middleeast\/13mideast.html?pagewanted=all\u0026amp;_r=0\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2006\/07\/13\/world\/middleeast\/13mideast.html?pagewanted=all\u0026amp;_r=0\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile European nations debated whether to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization during 2013, U.S., European, and Israeli media ran a number of op-eds from international leaders, such as Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler, decrying Hezbollah\u2019s terrorist activities. Some sections of the media opposed the prospective \u201cterrorist\u201d label. For example, \u003Cem\u003EThe Guardian\u003C\/em\u003E hosted a forum for both Livni and\u0026nbsp; Sami Ramadani, a university lecturer, to provide opposing arguments. Ramadani arguied that labeling Hezbollah a terrorist organization was \u201cfutile\u201d and flew \u201cin the face of the facts.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ETzipi Livni and Sami Ramadani, \u201cShould the EU Designate Hezbollah a Terrorist Organisation?\u201d \u003Cem\u003EGuardian\u003C\/em\u003E, July 22, 2013, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2013\/jul\/22\/eu-hezbollah-israel\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2013\/jul\/22\/eu-hezbollah-israel\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Ramadani further stated, \u201cLike all genuine resistance movements, the Lebanese resistance, led by Hezbollah, was born as a reaction to occupation.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ETzipi Livni and Sami Ramadani, \u201cShould the EU Designate Hezbollah a Terrorist Organisation?\u201d \u003Cem\u003EGuardian\u003C\/em\u003E, July 22, 2013, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2013\/jul\/22\/eu-hezbollah-israel\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2013\/jul\/22\/eu-hezbollah-israel\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E The European press thus attempted to cover all angles regarding the suitability of the label, while European leaders were at variance as they sought to balance the issue of Hezbollah\u2019s designation with the potential damage to Lebanese relations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough the EU did not take up the debate until 2013, there were calls for it to do so for many years previously. For instance, in 2006 the \u003Cem\u003EBaltimore Sun\u003C\/em\u003E questioned why the EU would not designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization in spite of Hezbollah\u2019s attacks on Israel earlier that summer.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EAaron Resnick, \u201cWhen Will EU Shun Hezbollah Terrorists?\u201d \u003Cem\u003EBaltimore Sun\u003C\/em\u003E, October 6, 2006, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/articles.baltimoresun.com\/2006-10-06\/news\/0610060186_1_hezbollah-terrorist-organization-hamas\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/articles.baltimoresun.com\/2006-10-06\/news\/0610060186_1_hezbollah-terrorist-organization-hamas\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe debate over what to label Hezbollah, both within the media and by governments, finds its origin in a 1998 piece by academic Augustus Richard Norton. Norton proposed that, despite Hezbollah\u2019s violent activities, its provision of social services in Lebanon creates two distinct parts of the organization: one dedicated to terrorism against Israel and the other to being a social-services organization.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EAugustus Richard Norton, \u201cHizballah: From Radicalism to Pragmatism?\u201d Middle East Policy Council, accessed January 28, 2015, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/almashriq.hiof.no\/lebanon\/300\/320\/324\/324.2\/hizballah\/norton.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/almashriq.hiof.no\/lebanon\/300\/320\/324\/324.2\/hizballah\/norton.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile Western media typically does not use the word \u201cterrorist\u201d to describe Hezbollah, media reports reference some of the terrorist attacks perpetrated by the group and the influence of Iran on its activities. Thus, Reuters recently described it as \u201can Iranian-backed Shi\u2019ite Islamist group.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ETom Perry, \u201cHezbollah Commander Killed In Iraq: Sources,\u201d Reuters, July 30, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2014\/07\/30\/us-lebanon-iraq-hezbollah-idUSKBN0FZ2BI20140730\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2014\/07\/30\/us-lebanon-iraq-hezbollah-idUSKBN0FZ2BI20140730\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E The EU\u2019s debate over the designation of Hezbollah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization was sparked by the 2012 Bulgaria bombing, attributed to the Shiite terror group. The BBC reported in early 2013 that Bulgarian officials had linked the bombing to Hezbollah and the news agency included U.S. calls for Europe to label Hezbollah a terror group.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cHezbollah Linked to Burgas Bus Bombing in Bulgaria,\u201d BBC News, last modified February 5, 2013, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-europe-21342192\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-europe-21342192\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Following the end of the 2006 conflict, a \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times \u003C\/em\u003Earticle reported on the Lebanese people returning to their homes, shocked by the damage. The article explored Hezbollah\u2019s position in Lebanese society, or, as one Lebanese professor called it, \u201ca state within a non-state,\u201d referring to the failure of Lebanon\u2019s government to provide adequate services and security.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EJohn Kifner, \u201cHezbollah Leads Work to Rebuild, Gaining Stature,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, August 16, 2006, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2006\/08\/16\/world\/middleeast\/16hezbollah.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2006\/08\/16\/world\/middleeast\/16hezbollah.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFurther, media reports frequently note Hezbollah\u2019s ties to Iran and Syria.\u0026nbsp; For example, when reporting on the U.S. ban of Hezbollah\u2019s television station \u003Cem\u003EAl-Manar\u003C\/em\u003E in 2004, the \u003Cem\u003EWashington Post\u003C\/em\u003E referred to Hezbollah as a \u201cradical Lebanese political party\u201d whose military wing is \u201cfunded by Iran and dedicated to the destruction of Israel.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EJohn Mintz, \u201cU.S. Bans Al-Manar, Says TV Network Backs Terror,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EWashington Post\u003C\/em\u003E, December 22, 2004, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/articles\/A18011-2004Dec21.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/articles\/A18011-2004Dec21.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough Western media may avoid specifically labeling Hezbollah a terrorist organization, it largely \u2013 but not always \u2013 recognizes Hezbollah\u2019s violent nature and terrorist history. A 2013 \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E article on Hezbollah\u2019s vow to increase its presence in the Syrian civil war, for example, neglects to mention Hezbollah\u2019s connections to the murder of civilians. The article describes Hezbollah \u201cas a popular movement to fight Israel\u2019s occupation of southern Lebanon\u2026 while firmly based in Lebanon\u2019s Shiite community, [it] has long tried to portray itself as a national resistance movement that exists to protect all Lebanese. The strength of its fighters, who constitute Lebanon\u2019s strongest military force, once made them \u2014 and Mr. Nasrallah \u2014 heroes throughout the Arab world.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EBen Hubbard, \u201cHezbollah Makes Vow to Step Up Syria Fight,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, August 16, 2013, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/08\/17\/world\/middleeast\/hezbollah-makes-vow-to-step-up-syria-fight.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/08\/17\/world\/middleeast\/hezbollah-makes-vow-to-step-up-syria-fight.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E The article notes Hezbollah\u2019s annual commemoration of its 2006 war with Israel, crediting Hezbollah for rebuilding a nearby village destroyed in the war. However, the article omits the fact that Hezbollah initiated the conflict by crossing the border and attacking Israeli soldiers.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EBen Hubbard, \u201cHezbollah Makes Vow to Step Up Syria Fight,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, August 16, 2013, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/08\/17\/world\/middleeast\/hezbollah-makes-vow-to-step-up-syria-fight.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/08\/17\/world\/middleeast\/hezbollah-makes-vow-to-step-up-syria-fight.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n","dialogOptions":{"minWidth":850,"resizable":true,"modal":true,"title":"Western Media"}},{"command":"doFootnotes"}]