WASHINGTON — The Bush administration was quick to pin responsibility on Iran and Syria when Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers this week. Yet those countries may not have specifically planned and ordered the raid that has brought the Middle East to the edge of war, U.S. officials and terrorism experts say.
Iran and Syria each have long-standing ties to Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim militant group, and no Western government doubts that they provide financial, political and logistical support. But some officials and experts say Hezbollah can also move on its own initiative, for its own reasons, even as it seeks to avoid any move that would displease its chief patrons.
"It sometimes does act on its own," said Wayne White, who was a senior official in the State Department's intelligence arm until last year.
White said intelligence agencies have differed on how much Iran might be spending on Hezbollah but that they agree there are very strong ties between that country and the group. Even so, he said, it would be an overstatement to say that Hezbollah is a "pawn" of Iran.
Wednesday's kidnapping "could have been someone seizing a moment of opportunity -- a bunch of Hezbollah guys could have done it without even thinking they need permission from on high," said a U.S. counterterrorism official, who said he was basing his speculation on experience with the group and spoke on condition of anonymity while discussing intelligence matters. "Terrorist operations can happen at any moment and be quite fluid."
The possible role of Iran and Syria has become an issue as the raid brought fierce Israeli retaliation and stirred fears that fighting could engulf more of the region. If Iran and Syria ordered the Hezbollah raid, it might signal their willingness to see the conflict continue and widen. But if they did not, U.S. and Israeli charges that their longtime adversaries were somehow involved could heighten the tension in the region.
U.S. officials declined to offer specific evidence of Iranian or Syrian involvement in Wednesday's raid, in which eight Israeli soldiers were killed. But the Bush administration, in a statement afterward, said the two nations "bear responsibility" based on their longtime ties and support.
Sean McCormack, the chief State Department spokesman, said the countries "subcontract" terrorist attacks through Hezbollah.
