The basis of this ideology was set by the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. It basically strives to promote freedom of the Lebanese from both Israeli occupation, as well as the threat of the Western "imperialism." The most relevant excerpt in the ideology of Hezbollah is presented below: The solution to Lebanon's problems is the establishment of an Islamic republic as only this type of regime can secure justice and equality for all of Lebanon's citizens.

The Hizballah organization views as an important goal the fight against 'western imperialism' and its eradication from Lebanon. The group strives for complete American and French withdrawal from Lebanon, including all their institutions.

The conflict with Israel is viewed as a central concern. This is not only limited to the IDF presence in Lebanon. Rather, the complete destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of Islamic rule over Jerusalem is an expressed goal (Military Advantage, 2009).

Goals

Hezbollah was initially founded with the goal of freeing southern Lebanon from under Israeli occupation and fighting for the general freedom of the Palestinian populations. In time however, their objectives evolved as a result of the numerous interactions and developments in communities. The fight against the Israelites led them to the creation of an intense feeling of hatred, to culminate in the belief that Israel as a country does not have the basic right to exist. Once Lebanon was freed from Israeli occupation, the Hezbollah promoted an agenda according to which all land occupied by Israeli was land that needed to be freed and their new goal was that of eliminating Israeli all together. This newly developed goal of freeing the world from Israeli and their occupation threat makes the Hezbollah members believe that they are entitled to take any measure they consider necessary, including acts of terrorism. Additionally, the Hezbollah movement has made it clear that the Western civilizations represent a threat and they have often engaged in actions with the specific goal of punishing the United States interventions in the Middle East (Military Advantage, 2009).

Aside its fight against the Israelis and the American threat, Hezbollah also prays on its goal of inspiring all oppressed populations to raise their weapons and fight to free...

Also, their objectives include an improvement in the living conditions of the local population, a goal which has been achieved to a larger degree than initially believed by the international community. Today, Hezbollah offers a multitude of social services to the Lebanese population and this continually raises its notoriety and public support. Finally, another goal has been that of increasing its power, which has also been achieved, proof of this success standing the increased number of Hezbollah members who activate as powerful politicians in the Lebanese government (BBC News, 2002).
4. Conclusions

In the contemporaneous society of increasing threats of terrorism, the specialized literature has become more focused on addressing the issue of terrorist organizations. Despite the existence of terrorism since ancient times, a definition is difficult to offer. Yet, terrorism may be understood as the use of violence in order to pressure decision makers to rule in favor of the agenda promoted by the terrorist organization.

The paramilitary organization Hezbollah was founded with the special purpose of fighting the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. In time however, the aims of the group evolved, as did their ideology and grievances. What is interesting about the Hezbollah is that all of their grievances, ideologies and goals are based on the same three core elements -- freedom for Lebanon, demise of the Israelis and the lack of desire to submerge to the imperialistic desires of the Western civilizations.