According to Hezbollah, the United States was to blame for many of the country’s problems. Israel was seen as an extension of the United States and a foreign power in Lebanon. The organization itself started in 1982 as part of the Iranian government’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. Led by religious clerics, the organization wanted to adopt an Iranian doctrine as a solution to Lebanese political malaise. This doctrine included the use of terror as a means of attainting political objectives.
Toward the end of 1982, Iran sent fighters to assist in the establishment of a revolutionary Islamic movement in Lebanon. Iran’s hope was that the new members would participate in the Jihad, or Holy War, against Israel. These forces, which were located in the area of Ba’albek in the northern Beqa’a valley, brought Iranian-Islamic influence to the area and constituted the core of the Hezbollah organization in Lebanon.
As the organizational infrastructure developed, Hezbollah, with Iranian and Syrian assistance, began to establish an extensive military network in the Ba’albek area. Its militias have since spread into the Shi’ite neighborhoods in southern and western Beirut as well as into southern Lebanon.
Thousands of Hezbollah activists and members are located in the Beqa’a valley, Beirut and southern Lebanon. These areas also offer a base for the recruitment of additional activists and fighters among the local Shi’ite populations.