The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) released the following statement today
applauding the Australian government’s announcement that it would designate


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CEP Applauds Australia’s Intention To Designate Hezbollah And The Base As
Terrorist Organizations

 

(New York, N.Y.) –  The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) released the following
statement today applauding the Australian government’sannouncement
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that it would designateHezbollah
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“CEP commends the Australian government for its intent to declare both The
Base and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations. Acknowledging the dangers these
extremist groups pose to public safety is a critical first step in countering
such threats. We particularly applaud the fact that Australia will upgrade its
terror designation of Hezbollah from its previous designation of only
Hezbollah’s transnational unit, the External Security Organization. The shift
in Australia’s position recognizes the dangerous and violent ambitions of
Hezbollah’s top leadership, which directs Hezbollah’s politicians and militants
alike. Some governments continue to draw an artificial distinction between
Hezbollah’s political and military wings, but momentum is building across the
world to recognize Hezbollah as a singular terrorist entity. CEP calls upon all
nations to follow the example set by Australia, Germany, the U.K., and of
course the U.S. in recognizing Hezbollah as a unified terrorist group following
a violent, extremist ideology.”

 

Several governments, including the European Union, ban only Hezbollah’s
so-called military wing, distinguishing it from the group’s political
leadership. There is no distinction between Hezbollah’s political and military
wings. Both are subservient to Secretary-GeneralHassan Nasrallah
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leadership has repeatedly confirmed Hezbollah’s unitary leadership, which
informs both its militants and its politicians. In a 2000 interview with a
Lebanese newspaper, Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said that “Hezbollah’s
secretary-general is the head of the Shura Council and also the head of the
Jihad Council, and this means that we have one leadership, with one
administration.” In July 2020, 260 legislators from the European Union, United
Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, and Israelcalled
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on the European Union to ban Hezbollah in its entirety.

 

The Base is a neo-Nazi, white-supremacist network that describes itself as an
“international survivalist and self-defense network” training its members for
an oncoming race war. Since its founding, the network’s presence has been
recorded in North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia. The
organization’s present transnational reach outside of the United States is
unknown, but in recent months The Base has sought to revitalize its ranks while
holding survivalist training camps around the United States.

 

To read CEP’s The Base resource, please click here
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To read CEP’s Hezbollah resource, please click here
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