Dr. Matthew Levitt is a subject matter expert on Middle Eastern terrorism and has published extensively on Hezbollah and Hamas. He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the Director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and as a counterterrorism intelligence analyst at the FBI. He is the author of Hamas, Negotiating Under Fire, and Hezbollah. He also hosts the Breaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule Podcast.
To learn more about Matt, follow him on X @Levitt_Matt
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:40 - Hezbollah's Background
04:04 - Hezbollah's Ideology and Goals
06:20 - Hezbollah's Shift to Targeting the West
09:59 - Hezbollah's Tactical Operations
18:40 - Hezbollah's Use of Front Companies
25:20 - Hezbollah's Tactics in Iraq
31:59 - Hezbollah's Criminal Enterprises
39:49 - Surprises in Recent Conflicts
42:16 - Surprise Attack on October 7th
44:23 - Cross-Border Shelling and New Rules
47:51 - Israeli Military Strategy Explained
50:37 - Targeting Hezbollah's Leadership
53:35 - Current Status of Israeli Operations
58:43 - Israeli Strategy and Regional Implications
01:02:10 - Iran's Response to Israeli Actions
01:07:10 - Hezbollah's Rocket Capabilities
01:17:30 - Future of Hostage Negotiations
01:20:05 - Hostage Situation Update
01:22:44 - Israel's Military Strategy Changes
01:27:48 - US and Israel's Military Cooperation
01:32:28 - Political Dynamics in Israel
01:34:46 - Iran's Nuclear Threat Assessment
01:38:41 - Mughniyeh's Elimination
01:41:24 - Hezbollah's Threats Post-Funeral
01:43:34 - Closing Thoughts