By J.M. Phelps (One News Now)
A former CIA operations officer offers a dire warning to America: A number of Iranian-backed Hezbollah sleeper cells are hiding in the dark shadows of the country.
Sam Faddis, a veteran of the CIA who witnessed Hezbollah up close for decades, tells OneNewsNow there are at least three cases of “long-term, very sophisticated, very well-trained operatives” who have been identified inside the United States.
In an exclusive interview, the retired CIA operations officer contends there is “absolutely no reason on earth” to conclude the number at work in the U.S. is only three.
Hezbollah, which traces its roots to Lebanon in the 1980s, was declared a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the U.S. State Department in 1997.
Faddis calls the Iran-sponsored terrorist organization (pictured above) a “very large, very robust, very active [terrorist] organization.”
Seeking a group’s intentions and observing their activities begets an intelligence operation, Faddis explains. Not only do intelligence agencies have the responsibility of “[recognizing] the sophistication and scope of what Hezbollah is intending, [but] a local community can also play a role in unraveling any kind of intelligence operation.”
Whether it be law enforcement agencies or citizens, Faddis says they can recognize “abnormalities” in their communities due to their knowledge of the local area. He experienced the same challenge on foreign soil, since it was easy for the locals to notice something “out of place” on their own street.
The intelligence expert says it’s also important to consider the mindsets of those involved in an investigation. On the one hand, he says, “law enforcement is geared toward arresting people and seeing that they are prosecuted and put in jail.”
On the other hand, Faddis explains that an intelligence agency “looks at things to maintain their capacity to collect information and infiltrate networks.”
And both perspectives are equally important, he adds.
Local citizens, law enforcement personnel, and intelligence agencies must collectively understand the threat Hezbollah sleeper cells pose to America, Faddis argues, because too-few people can appreciate the “breadth of targets” Hezbollah could hit inside our own borders.
In a chilling example, he points to the confrontation the United States is having with Iran over energy.
“We’re essentially cutting off their lifeblood,” he explains, “by imposing sanctions on their oil.”
As a result, Faddis contends every oil and gas facility in the United States has become a “legitimate target” for our enemy — “including every pipeline, every pumping station, and every well,” he warns.
But nobody is paying attention to that, he insists.
Related to Hezbollah’s operators, the Quds Force is the extraterritorial-operating unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that responsible for carrying out an array of intelligence activities and conducting unconventional warfare around the world. Hezbollah is working “hand in hand” with Quds and Iran’s intelligence service, Faddis says.
“Hezbollah and their collaborators have very detailed operational plans against very sophisticated targets,” he warns, which include the Panama Canal, the Empire State building, as well as nuclear power plants.
“Each of these has already been identified,” he tells OneNewsNow, “as one of the targets [Hezbollah] is looking at.”
The American people and those sworn to protect the country need to be more vigilant, Faddis says.
J.M. Phelps is a Christian activist and journalist based in the Southeastern U.S. He is also editor and publisher of the website Lantern of Liberty.
Originally published by One News Now on Friday, January 3, 2020.
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