Ambassador Henry Crumpton, the State Department's counter-terrorism coordinator, said Hezbollah's missile attacks on Israel have highlighted the growing threat to the region of its main sponsor, Iran.

"The impact of the Israeli response to the kidnapping of their soldiers and the repeated incursions by Hezbollah I think in some ways is just beginning. This is just the start of a long, complex chapter," Crumpton told defense reporters here.

Crumpton, a former top CIA covert operator, has been credited with turning Afghan insurgents into the ground force that, backed by US air power, ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

He linked Hezbollah's attacks on Israel to a larger threat to the region by Iran, which he said has "shifted the calculus in the Levant" by introducing longer-range missiles into southern Lebanon.

"You look at Iran since '79, since they took our diplomats hostage and held them for 444 days, and you look at their sponsorship of Hezbollah, and what Hezbollah has done not just to US interests but to the interests of civilized nations, it's a long, pretty ugly history of terrorism," he said.

"We have got to take this on, either now or later. I think we're going to have to take it on now," he said.

Hezbollah, particularly if pushed to the verge of destruction, might strike US interests overseas or even in the United States, he warned.

"We don't have any evidence of their plans and intentions to do so right now. And I think it would not be in their interest. Our response would be swift and pretty definitive."

"But I think it's a possibility they might do that, especially if they are on the ropes," he said.

He noted Iran's long history of contingency planning and of arming, training and financing Hezbollah.

"They will have pretty sophisticated intelligence collection efforts, and they will have operatives -- if not in place, then trained and ready to go. It's not something they would have to work long and hard to develop."

According to Crumpton, European and some Arab states also are showing greater understanding of the threat from Iran as it seeks nuclear weapons and develops longer-range missiles.

"They are worried, and I think there is going to be a growing consensus so we can bring some diplomatic pressure to bear," he said.

A key target of the pressure will be Syria, the transit point for Iranian arms to Lebanon, he said.

Israeli attacks on military convoys entering Lebanon from Syria appear to have shut down the flow of longer-range missiles to Lebanon from Iran, he said.

However, Hezbollah is believed to have an arsenal of about 10,000 to 15,000 missiles of various types, possibly including missiles with a range long enough to strike Tel Aviv that have not yet been fired.

In southern Lebanon, the Israelis were encountering fierce resistance on the ground by Hezbollah fighters who are deeply entrenched in an elaborate network of bunkers and fortifications.

The Israelis were making some progress "in terms of denting their infrastructure," Crumpton said.

"But it's going to take a long time. I don't believe this is going to be over in the next couple of days," he said.

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