Chertoff: Al Qaida Minor League Compared to Hizbollah

I don't know what to make of Chertoff statement that Hizbollah is "like the A-team of terrorists in terms of capabilities, in terms of range of weapons they have, in terms of internal discipline," Chertoff told FOX News. "To be honest, they make Al Qaeda look like a minor league team." Fox News

JERUSALEM — Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff warned Thursday that the radical Islamic group Hezbollah "makes Al Qaeda look like a minor league team," and poses the greatest threat to national security.

"Someone described Hezbollah like the A-team of terrorists in terms of capabilities, in terms of range of weapons they have, in terms of internal discipline," Chertoff told FOX News. "To be honest, they make Al Qaeda look like a minor league team.

"They have been more disciplined, and they've been in some senses more restrained in the kinds of attacks they carry out ... in recent years, but that's not something we can take for granted," he warned.

....

Hezbollah, which represents most of the Shia in Lebanon and whose related factions hold a combined 37 seats in parliament -- more than a quarter of the legislative body -- is openly dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

In a 2000 interview with the Washington Post, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said, "I am against any reconciliation with Israel. I do not even recognize the presence of a state that is called 'Israel.'"

Military analysts estimate Hezbollah's armed strength to be about 1,000 full-time highly trained members, with as many as 10,000 volunteers who openly patrol the streets of Beirut and other Lebanese towns.

The group's primary weapons are believed to consist of an arsenal of Russian- and home-made rockets, as well as arms supplied through Iran, the group's political and spiritual ally.