Jeffrey White was an adjunct defense fellow at The Washington Institute, specializing in the military and security affairs of the Levant and Iran.
Articles & Testimony
Hizb Allah is the most effective force on the Syrian battlefield and has been instrumental in the preservation of the Assad regime and the success of its offensive operations since spring 2013.
As the war in Syria rages, the conflict has presented a major challenge to Lebanese Hizb Allah's military organization, command, and combat forces. Hizb Allah has embarked on sustained expeditionary warfare for the first time in its history and finds itself pitted against enemies it had neither sought nor prepared to fight, on unfamiliar territory, and in a cause different from its "resistance" raison d'etre. The war in Syria has not been easy for the group, and the conflict shines a light on Hizb Allah's combat performance and capabilities. Hizb Allah is gaining valuable knowledge of irregular warfare and actual combat experience, but this may have only limited relevance in a future conflict with Israel.
This article focuses on the military aspects of Hizb Allah's intervention in Syria. It examines Hizb Allah's known activities in Syria, evaluates its success in stabilizing the Bashar al-Assad regime, reveals the challenges the group faces in Syria, and identifies the implications of its involvement. It finds that the group is the most effective force on the Syrian battlefield and has been instrumental in the preservation of the al-Assad regime and in its offensive successes since the spring of 2013...
