US Offers $10 Million to ‘Disrupt’ Hezbollah Finances

Seeks information on donors, business ties

The US State Department is offering up to $10 million for anyone who provides intelligence that would allow the government to disrupt Hezbollah’s finances. They want to know who donates to Hezbollah, as well as any business ties.

This is a complicated matter, because while the US is treating them as a straightforward “terrorist organization,” Hezbollah is mainly a political party with a substantial role in the Lebanese government, and has ties to charity groups.

The group is  treated in an overly simplistic way by US officials, meaning the State Department sees no problem asking questions about donors and ties. It would be unthinkable, however, for them to make similar inquiries, offering large cash awards, for any other country’s major political parties’ donors.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that Hezbollah’s recent calls for political donations prove that the US is being successful in undermining them. Since they aren’t entirely sure who the donors are, that seems to be mainly a guess.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.