The administration of President Barack Obama has been examining the prospect of reconciling with the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah.
Obama's adviser on counter-insurgency was said to have recommended that Washington consider steps that would launch ties with Hizbullah, which appears on the State Department's list of terrorist groups.
Deputy National Security Adviser, John Brennan, has asked at least one Washington think tank to propose measures that would begin a process of normalization.
"As you've noted, some like John Brennan are already thinking about a more flexible policy towards Hizbullah and it would be extremely useful to get your views on this to ensure anything decided is done properly," the Center for American Progress said in an invitation to researchers.
The Washington-based center, regarded as an ally of the Obama administration, has been planning a study that would pave the way for U.S. reconciliation with Hizbullah, which killed more than 300 Americans in a series of suicide bombings in the early 1980s. The think tank said its study would be presented to "senior U.S. policymakers in the administration."
"It is highly possible that the link with the Obama administration is exaggerated, but this indeed does come from the White House's favorite think tank," Barry Rubin, director of Israel's Global Research in International Affairs Center, said.
Rubin said the Center for American Progress requested his views on how Washington could deal with Hizbullah "short of engagement." He quoted the letter as saying the center wanted to know whether "Israeli leaders see benefit in the U.S. talking with Hizbullah about issues which are of crucial importance to Israel?"
In an address in August 2009, Brennan characterized Hizbullah as a group that has evolved from a "purely terrorist organization in the early 1980s." He said many in Hizbullah have been renouncing terrorism although the core of the group remains terrorist.
"I'm pleased to see that a lot of Hizbullah individuals are in fact renouncing that type of terrorism and violence and are trying to participate in the political process in a very legitimate fashion," Brennan told the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Rubin said the Center for American Progress planned to issue a report that would recommend U.S. engagement with Hizbullah. He said the center turned to him to provide a token opposition voice. The center has not formally responded.
"I read this letter — and that impression is confirmed by those knowledgeable about this project and those involved — as saying that the Center for American Progress is going to issue a report calling for U.S. engagement with Hizbullah, and that it has been encouraged to do so by important officials in the Obama administration," Rubin said.
