Israel Matzav: Hezbullah not a threat to US?

Hezbullah not a threat to US?

This was part of US Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair's annual threat assessment.

We judge that, unlike al-Qa’ida, Hizballah, which has not directly attacked US interests overseas over the past 13 years, is not now actively plotting to strike the Homeland. However, we cannot rule out that the group would attack if it perceives that the US is threatening its core interests.

I wasn't the only one whose eyebrows were raised at that one. Democracy Arsenal notes:

By taking pains to emphasize that Hizballah is not a direct threat to the United States, Blair makes a dramatic tonal shift. This raises big some questions. What caused the intelligence community to so radically alter its perspective? Does Blair's assessment suggest further revisiting of U.S. policy toward a group that has steadily evolved from a militia to a major political actor in Lebanon? What might that look like? We shall see.

My take: The Obama administration is preparing the groundwork to deal with Hezbullah as part of the Lebanese government.

Leaving Israel out for a minute, here are some reasons why Blair is dead wrong. Hezbullah has a base of operations in Venezuela - what is that for if not to be part of attacks on the United States? Hezbullah has been smuggling sleeper cells into the United States with illegal immigrants from Mexico. Those cells can be activated at any time.

Ooops - silly me. Those things only happened during the Bush administration. In the Age of Obama, Hezbullah loves America and America has nothing to fear from it.

What could go wrong?

Israel Matzav: Hezbullah not a threat to US?