Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

252 • HEZBOLLAHAnalysts believe that Hezbollah maintains extensive intelligenceand covert operations not only in Lebanon but also in Iraq, West Africa,and North and South America. In 2000 U.S. federal investigators exposeda Charlotte, North Carolina, hub of a Western Hemisphere–widecigarette-smuggling and distribution network that netted hundreds ofthousands of dollars for Hezbollah yearly. U.S. officials believe thatthese operations continue, particularly in the Three Frontiers regionbordering Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. In 2003 U.S. and Israeliintelligence learned of a 90-member Hezbollah “security detail” enteringIraq. Although there was no evidence that Hezbollah was directlyfighting in the anti-U.S. insurgency, it appeared that Hezbollah wasaugmenting Iran’s presence and influence among the Shi’a of Iraq.Reportedly, in late 2007, Iraqi security forces compelled Hezbollahtrainers to leave the Basra region in southern Iraq.The reach of Hezbollah’s intelligence network came to light with thearrests and trials in December 2006 of Nada Nadim Prouty and her sister-in-law,U.S. Marine Corps Captain Samar Spinelli, both Lebanesenationals who came to the United States under student visas and whohad obtained U.S. citizenship through fraudulent marriages. Prouty becamea Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent during 1997–2003and a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer during 2003–2005and was assigned to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, handling sensitiveintelligence regarding the insurgency and Shi’ite parties and militiasthere. Spinelli had assisted Prouty in accessing classified informationabout Hezbollah, and both were charged with attempting to defraud theU.S. government and with naturalization fraud. On 26 October 2008agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) along with Colombianpolice arrested 36 members of a cocaine-trafficking and money-launderingring, including the Lebanese national Chekry Harb, who is known tohave transferred large sums of his profits to finance Hezbollah.The July–August 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel was occasionedby Hezbollah’s kidnapping of three Israeli soldiers in theShebaa Farms area and Israel’s refusal to negotiate their release. Theconflict is known in Lebanon as the July War and in Israel as theSecond Lebanon War and lasted from 12 July 2006 until 14 August2006. Although over 1,100 Lebanese civilians and up to 600 Hezbollahmilitia members were killed, compared to Israel’s loss of 43civilians and around 119 IDF members, the war showed that Israelwas unable to prevent Hezbollah’s continuing missile barrage on