by Jim Kouri
The Secretary Timothy Geithner and his Treasury Department ordered the imposition of financial sanctions on the Lebanon-based, Iran-supported terrorist group Hezbollah on Friday, according the a government report.
The U.S. government sanctions are being imposed due to Hezbollah providing material support to the government of Syria, according the Treasury Department press statement.
In a press statement, the Treasury Department accused Hezbollah of providing training, advisors and "extensive logistical support" to the Syrian military and police in the regime's quest to destroy its opposition as a result of the uprising that started more than a year ago.
"Hezbollah [is] directly [training] Syrian government personnel inside Syria and has facilitated the training of Syrian forces by Iran's terrorist arm, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Qods Force (IRGC-QF)," said the Treasury Department statement.
In addition, the U.S. government alleges that the terrorist group is pushing war refugees out of Lebanon and back into war-torn Syria.
"Hezbollah's extensive support to the Syrian government's violent suppression of the Syrian people exposes the true nature of this terrorist organization and its destabilizing presence in the region," said the statement.
As a result of the Treasury Department sanctions, any assets belonging to Hezbollah or its members under U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen. Also Americans and U.S. businesses are prohibited from doing business with the terrorist group or its affiliates under penalty of federal law.
Hezbollah is already a U.S. Department of State designated terrorist organization which was declared in 2001. Its alleged commander, Hasan Nasrallah, was named a terrorist in 1995 during the Clinton administration.
Jim Kouri, CPP, is founder and CEO of Kouri Associates, a homeland security, public safety and political consulting firm. He's formerly Fifth Vice-President, now a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, and he's a columnist for Examiner.com. In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com) and editor of Conservative Base Magazine (www.conservativebase.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at St. Peter's University and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country.
He holds a bachelor of science in Criminal Justice from Southwest University and SCI Technical School in New York City and completed training at the NYC Police Academy, FBI Continuing Education Program, and the Certified Protection Professional (CPP) of the American Society for Industrial Security.
Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
