Q & A with Thanassis Cambanis

Thanassis Cambinas is the author of “A Privilege to Die: Inside Hezbollah’s Legions and Their Endless War Against Israel.”

Michael Orbach: Why is Hezbollah is so dangerous?

Thanassis Cambanis: I’m torn between feeling like I’m exaggerating or that people are not realizing what’s scary about Hezbollah. What I have emphasized and what I found exceptionable is how compelling their idea is for their own followers and their audience — that gives them their political momentum. We focus too much on terrorist attack spectacles and we don’t pay attention to where the rest of the world is in terms of thinking and their views of America and Israel. When I say that Hezbollah is the most dangerous group out there, it isn’t necessarily because they’re going to kill the most people in the next year or in the next five years, but unlike Al Qaeda, they are going to be a growing and vital part of our landscape and nothing we do can make them smaller or less influential. That’s why I say they are far more dangerous than the threats of the day we speak about.

MO: Why are they such a threat to Israel?

TS: The reason why they are the most important threat to Israel, in my view, is they are convinced that Israel can be defeated by force. This is an old idea that was somewhat discredited by the 1967 war and many people in the governments in the region that did not like Israel figured they would have to accept the Jewish state in their midst, regardless of how they felt. From Israel’s point of view, this looked like progress. Hezbollah has worked for three decades to put back into circulation the notion that resistance against Israel can work. This is not symbolic resistance; this is real military resistance whose organizers believe this can lead to a military victory. From Israel’s perspective this is very very dangerous. It not only creates a literal military threat, but it creates a whole new wave of momentum for individuals and militant factions and down the road, governments, who will believe that with adequate resources and perseverance they can end the presence of the Jewish state in the Mid-East.

MO: What about the organization makes it so effective?