TERROR, INC.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 3, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: October 14, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8
ARTICLE APPEARED
ON PAG
NEW YORK POST
14 October 1985
TERROR,
TIM sesjacking a[ the Achille L um surely won't be the
last act of terror direness. at the Wes this yew, wam
Robert Moss, a recognised authority an terrorism and
mpioeage In this lira d a s-part series. Moss is the edi-
tor d "Early Warning," a confidential newsletter on In-
? > . hod in ~ naambsek bv_ Pocket Books.
By ROBERT MOSS
AT the time that the hi-
jacking of the Achille
Lauro was being planned
by members of Yasser
Arafat's PLO, one of Ara-
fat's deadliest enemies,
Abu Nidal, was boasting in
Tripoli, Libya, that he had
armed underground cells
for a major terrorist
operation in Cairo.
Egypt is likely to be one of
the main targets in a wave
of terrorist reprisals for the
capture of the men who hi-
jacked the Italian cruise
ship and brutally murdered
Leon Klinghoffer.
The stunning success of the
U.S. operation served notice
that the Reagan administra-
tion is determined not to let
terrorists go unpunished. It
was also a double humiliation
for Arafat's PLO.
First, it now seems clear
that Abu Abbas, chief of the
Tunis-based faction of the
Palestine Liberation
Front (PLF) and a close
Arafat ally, was behind
the hijacking. Together
with the murder of two Is-
raeli sailors in Barcelona
by the PLO's elite "Force
17," the tragedy at sea has
exploded Arafat's denials
of responsibility and the
efforts of his well-spoken,
well-tailored academic
spokesmen in the U.S. to
present his PIA as a
"moderate" force in the
Middle East.
Second. the operation
was hopelessly botched.
Western intelligence
sources believe that rival
terrorist warlords will
now seize the chance to
upstage Arafat by
launching a wave of at-
tacks on the U.S., Italy
ana rgypa, as weu as aa-
raeL Arafat's PLO, in
order to save face, may
be drawn into a bout of
competitive terrorism.
Egypt is especially at
risk. It has long been a
major terrorist target so a
vital U.S. ally and as Is-
rael's interlocutor in the
Middle East. The late
President Sadat's willing.
new to enter into the
Camp David accords cost
him his life at the hands of
Muslim fanatics. What-
ever the full truth of
Egypt's role In the latest
epbode, President Hasal
Mubarak now stands ac-
cused by the terrorists of
striking a tacit deal with
the U.S. that enabled the
capture of the hijackers to
take Said al-Banns, who
uses the nom de guerre
Abu Nidal, in a key man to
watch. He is a highly-pro-
fessional killer, once em-
by the Iraquis. now
Syria and
h
Libya, w
given to
o is
touring the Midd East In
the guise of a Catholic
prime
His organization, the
Fatah Revolutionary
Council, was responsible
for the murder of an Is-
raeli embassy attache
and his wife in Cairo last
August In 1982, Abu
Nidal's government seri-
ously wounded Israel's
ambassador to Britain in
another assassination at-
tempt
The group has carried
out a string- of contract-
llings In. European capi-
ta
tals, including the murder
tary facilities in Westeral
Europe. A loose network
including the so-called
Communist Combatant
Cells in Belgium, Action,
Directe in France, the,
remnants of the Red,
Army Fraction in West
Germany and the Italian
Communist Organization
for the Liberation of the
Proletariat has been shar-
explo-
0 elves in
anti-NATO operations
of Iranian exile leader and has. radical Middle
Gen. Ovei si in Paris. Abu, i East links.
Nadal brags that he has i ? Terrorist attacks in,
unleashed "World War IQ"
in Western Europe.
Is. Libya last month,
along with a small Who's
Who of
ter-
rorist hiding
George Habash of the Pea
tion of Palestine (who had
just come from Moscow),
Abu Nadal declared that
his group had smuggled
arms to the Organization.
of Egypt's Revolution-
aries, a secret terrorist
group dedicated to the
.overthrow of Camp David.
The extent to which he
and. his comrades can
count on the backing of
their host, Col. 10adaty. In
indicated by an incredible
speech the Libyan dictator
delivered early last month
to an audience of military
cadets.
a depth
of blood-lust unusual even
for him, ithadafy de-
clared: "We must eat the
kidneys of the enemies -
the Zionists and the
Americans and their reac-
tionary supporters."
Western security ana-
lysts are now studying a
number of worrying sce`-
narios. for possible terror-
ist .S and s the Italia the
U
Thee scenarios include:
? A rash of assaults on ernments have all
"soft targets," for exam- been training kami-
ple, airline and shipping kaze squads for spe-
offices and Jews in West- cial missions. For in-
ern countries. stance, Intelligence
? A new hostage-tak- sources say that
ing In an attempt to bring Syrian instructors
pressure on Italy to free have trained kami-
the hijackers. The Ital- kaze,,pilots (some of
ians, however, have an
impressive track record them Palestinians)
of resisting blackmail of
this kind
? Terrorist bombings
of U.S and NATO mi $-
the Western Hemisphere
Both the PLO and the
Libyans have set up Irn-
bases
in Nic and there
ere Intel nee reports
w
several months ago that a
. against U.S mlitary facili-
ties in Honduras was
under dbcusdoo.
? Terrorism inside the
'United States. The U.S.
has remained largely im-
mune to the export of
Middle East terrorism up
till now. But there Is an
ominous precedent. In
a largely unpublicized
episode In 1973, a hit
man from the PLO's
Black September or-
ganization placed car
bombs at three Man-
hattan locations, in-
cluding Wall Street.
Tragedy was averted
thanks to good intelli-
gence; the FBI has re-
portedly bugged a
PLO information of-
fice In Houston.
? A return to kami-
kaze bombings. Im-
pressed by the spec-
tacular slaughter in-
flicted by suicide car
bombers in Beirut and
Kuwait.. Syrian, Ira-
nian and Libyan gov-
STAT
this ear at no.
air force base, north of
Aletto, and at Rayak in
the Bekaa Valley in
Lebanon.
The seajack drama
exposed some of the
rifts within Terror.
Inc. There are compet-
ing International net-
works - some run by
Iranian Mullahs. some
by drug lords - and a
whole menagerie of
fringe fanatics. Rela-
tions between ' them
tend to be no more cor-
dial than. say, between
rival gang,
for tLn prohibi-
tion Chicago.
The fissures have wi-
dened and become
more complex since
Yasir Arafat lost his
bases in Lebanon. Ara-
fat's dilemma will be
exp# *red in the next
artl41e..
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8
NEW YORK POST
ARTICLE APPEARED 15 October 1985
ON PAGE
HIS POWER FADING,
ARAFAT MUST BEG
THE weakness of Yasser Arafat's PLO
has forced the infamous terror leader to
seek dangerous new alliances with old
enemies, warns Robert Mess In this sea
and of a six-I&ft series. Moss, an au-
thority on terrorism and espionage, is
the editor of "Early Warning.- a news.
letter on Intelligence, and the author of
the paperback by Pocket Books). soon
By ROBERT MOSS
IT'S OFTEN said that
terrorism Is a weapon of
the weak.
That truism is not al-
ways a reliable guide in
the Middle East, where
radical governments
use the same terrorist
methods against their
own populations as
against enemies abroad.
Witness the case of
Syria, a Ieading sponsor
of international terror-
ism. In 1982, the Assad
regime used long-range
artillery on the people of
Hama, the nation's
fourth-largest city and a
hub of Sunni Muslim op-
position. By the end of
this exercise, an esti-
mated 10,000-20,000
Syrians had been killed
and the city center re-
duced to a heap of ash
and rubble.
Significantly, Col.
Ghazi Kana'an. one of
the architects of popula-
tion control in Hama, is
now Syria's procounsel
in the Bekaa Valley in
Lebanon, the home of
the terrorist leaders re-
sponsible for the massa-
cre of U.S. Marines in
Beirut.
In a region of "one-bul-
let" regimes, terror and
assassination are every-
day methods of achiev-
ing political goals.
Today, Yasser Ara-
fat's PLO is weak. The
fear of new defections
from within its ranks
may account for its in-
volvement in the latest
spate of terrorist at-
tacks - in Cyprus,
Barcelona, and on the
high seas.
Ironically, the weak-
ness of the PLO also ex.
plains Arafat's efforts to
present himself as a
peacemaker, and to pur-
FOR CRUMBS
sue diplomacy in con-
cert with his old enemy,
Jordan's King Hussein.
But this "two-track" ap-
proach - erecting a fa-
cade of moderation
while licensing terrorist
atrocities, usually under
a "false flag" - has
been the modus oper-
andi for Arafat and the
PLO for decades.
For instance, after
Arafat's guerrillas were
driven out of Jordan in
1970, the Black Septem-
ber organization was set
up. Black September
was responsible for the
massacre of Israeli ath-
letes at the 1972 Munich
Olymplci , -
were
_nWftA* RY PIA in-
volvement. But In his re-
cent memoirs, Arafat's
security chief (and cur-
rent No. 2), Abu Iyad, de-
scribed himself as the
leader of Black Septem-
ber.
Consider Arafat's di-
lemma today. Since he
was driven out of Tripoli
in north Lebanon in
1985, he controls no
territory of his own. In
Tunis, he is dependent
on the hospitality of the
pro-Western Bourguiba
government, which was
less than enchanted
when his hit men in Cy-
prus provoked Israeli
retaliation in the form
of an air strike against
his headquarters.
Arafat's forces are
widely scattered. The
main base for his fight-
ers is North Yemen,
where the PLO has been
permitted to set up
camps around Sana, the
capital, named after the
Sabra and Shatila
camps it once occupied
in Lebanon.
Guerrillas from the
PLO's ,Djermak" bri. Counsel in Amman, and
gads were taken from denounced Arafat as a
in north Lebanon, late in once a iavorea sun-
August, in a failed at- contractor for the Sovi-
tempt to recapture an ets, who have long made
old stomping-ground. use of the PLO to train
The hijack of the Ital- and supervise terrorists
ian ship, which was sup-' for missions as far
posed to be used in an afield as Central
operation against the Is- America and Africa,
raeli port of Ashdov, Arafat now has to beg
'
s
highlighted the PLO
biggest deficiency. It
has no bass in territory,
bordering Israel from
which to mount attacks
against its main enemy.
This - not any change
of heart - is the moti-
vation for Arafat's re-
cent dealings with Jor-
dan's King Hussein. As
Khalid el Hassan, the
head of the PLO's inter-
national department,
has explained it, "The
return of the PLO to
Jordan is the only way
to prevent the virtual
suicide, and to revitalize
ibe. PLO's operations."
Thtye~- ~J 0 hopes fo use
Jordan as the spring-
board for new terror at-
tacks on Israel Under
cover of the expanded
PLO office in Amman,
"Force 17" hit teams
have already relocated
to Jordan.
Syria, which is deter-
mined to run things in
.Lebanon, has engi-
neered a major split in
Arafat's movement. The
Syrians directly control
a number of extreme
Palestinian factions out-
side the PLO, headed by
Abu Musa, Abu Nidal
and Abu Ahmad. They
are all plotting against
Arafat's life.
Arafat aiso has to con-
tend with two major
Palestinian organiza-
tions - the PFLP
(George Habash's
group) and the DFLP, a
Marxist group closely
aligned with the Soviets
that boycotted the
last congress of the
Palestine National
for crumbs. For the first
time, he came close to
open criticism of Mos-
cow when, in a message
of congratulations to
Andrei Gromyko on the
occasion of his elevation
to the Soviet presidency,
he complained that
Syria was supplying
Russian-made tanks to
the Lebanese Amai or-
ganization.
Arafat knows, from
bitter experience, that
the Soviets value Syria
- their main forward
base in the Middle East,
where they now have an
estimated 8000 military
personnel deployed -
more than him. His old
friend Alexander Solda-
tov, the veteran Soviet
ambassador in Beirut,
stood on the sidelines
while Syrians made
mincemeat of Arafat's
loyalists in Lebanon.
Arafat can take comfort
from the fat handouts he
is still getting from Saudi
Arabia. The Saudis re-
portedly gave one of his
envoys a check for $28.5
million in July. But Saudi
and checkbook diplomacy
TV talk shows are un-
likely to bring a funda-
mental change in Arafat
or the PLO.
The PLO has never
backed away from its
original objective the de-
struction of the state of
Israel In this fundamen-
tal sense, the PLO,
founded in June 196 , has
never been - and will
never be - a "moderate"
influence.
The emblem of the PLO
faction that hijacked the
Italian cruise ship con-
tains a map of Palestine
within its pre-1947 bor-
ders. Arafat can never
recognize Israel, because
by so doing he would for-
feit his claim to lead what
is left of the PLO - and
risk a bullet in his back.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8
AR1TICLE APPEARED
ON FAG.F J~~ -
NEW YORK POST
16 October 1985
INSIDE THE MINDS
OF THE MUSLIM
AS you read this, kamikaze killers are
being trained to attack more American
targets, warns Robert Moss, In this
third of a sts-part series. Moss, an au-
tbuity on espionage and terrorism, Is
the of "Early Warning," a news.
letter on Intelligence. and the author of
the novel "Moscow Rules" (coming soon
in paperback by Pocket Books).
KAMIKAZES
TODAY, the suicide in the greatness of mar-
bomber is the most omi- tyrdom (shahadab) and
nous exponent of inter- the importance of sacri-
natiolW terrorism. fice since my youth." He
Shiite fanatics loyal glorified the kamikaze
to Iran's Ayatollah pilots who would "strike
Khomeini were respon- enemy ships, airports
sible for the series of and other targets by
truck bombs to Lebanon turning himself, his
In 1183-'84 that claimed planes and his bombs
hundreds of American, into one fireball-
French and Israeli lives. Assad, who is suffer-
Thess kamikazes came ing from an obscure
from a group, Islamic blood disease that laid
Jihad, him up for two weeks in
that is still holding
August, went on to say:
U.S. hostages in Lebanon
"My conviction of mar-
and boasts that it carried
tyrdom is neither inci-
out the brutal slaying of
dental nor temporary
American Embassy offi-
. I hope that my own
cial William Buckley.
life will end only in mar-
They are headquar-
tyrdom."
tered in Lebanon's
Bekaa Valley, where An old Arab proverb
runs: "You don't have to
they prepare for their
pay tax on words." But
operations under the
protection Assad's bizarre rhetoric
of the Syrian
Army was more than hot air.
and Iranian Revo-
He proceeded to order
lutionary Guards. They
Gen. al-Khoull to ar-
have yet to be punished
range for the training of
for their role in the TWA
suicide flyers at Syria's
hijack, although the
ARinakh airbase, near
identities and where-
abouts of their leaders the border with Turkey,
and and in the Bekaa Valley.
sponsors are known.
to a reliable At the same time, the
fate ce source Ira- Iranians have stepped
slan up the training of ew-
an scores struc- teharia, or suicide
and
two are 12
of kamlkazes~ IN a new squads.
goes on in the
mind of a suicide-bomb-
's trusted aide, er+
Gen. Shiite kamikazes are
won s hen - isolated in special
e r camps and put through
chaired a lengthy brainwashing
b1i _ Ayatollah Manta:eri. process under the tute-
ort of lage of uleeta, religious
c teachers. They are
--vywavlowu 4% taught that martyrdom
strange personal fixa- in the cause of the jihad,
the holy war against the
tion with the kamikaze.
In infidel, is the supreme
an extraordinary
speech to the National
achievement of the true
Federation of Syrian
believer. Self-sacrifice,
Students last May,
they are led to believe,
president de-
Syria's will open the gates of
clared: "I have believed
paradise.
These teachings may
sound wildly implausi-
ble is the West. But it
must be understood that
Shia Islam was born in
blood. with the murder
of the Caliph All. the
Prophet's son-in-law.
The millenial tradition
of the sect glorifies mar-
tyrdom for the cause. It
also insists on absolute,
unwavering obedience
to a theocratic despot.
A terrorist imbued with
these beliefs makes a for-
mutable antagonist. How
do you deter a killer
who's willing - even
eager - to give up his
life, in the conviction that
the bourns of Paradise
are waiting to greet him?
But a close investiga-
tion of recent suicide
bombings
that
not all the kamikazes are
religious fanatics. For ex-
ample, a leftist Lebanese
terror group controlled
by Syria recruits psycho-
logically disturbed indi-
viduals for kamikaze at-
tacks.
The group, the Pro-
gressive Socialist Party
(PPS), is based in the
Druze community. Its
suicide bombers appear
to be motived by a
"death wish" syndrome,
not an Islamic vision of
martyrdom.
Lebanon's fanatical
Shiite terrorists - Is-
lamic Jihad and the
various factions of the
Hezbollah or Party of
God - tend to hug the
shadows. But the
Syrian-inspired PPS
seeks maximum media
exposure for its "mar-
tyrs" among its target
audience.
Some of its terror
operations might have
been staged by a pro-
ducer of X-rated
movies. Two teenagers,
a boy called Wadi Fad-
lallah Shair and a girl,
Flssbhedc. Oct. 23. 19ei, SukIds bomber at.
tacks Nlrue Mad,asrtarr N U.S. Marino
possekogars. The Meth tad rsadn4 241.
Shona Mahidli, blew
themselves up along
with their car bomb in
Lebanon last spring,
gunning for the Israeiis.
TV viewers in Damns-
cum were promptly
treated to videotapes
showing them getting
ready for their mission,
with the seal of the PPS
and an official portrait
of Assad in the back-
ground
Neither fits the profile
of an Islamic fanatic.
Rather, they were two
sad, disoriented kids
ready to self-destruct.
Their personal hangups
made them ripe for ex-
ploitation by ruthless
terrorist controllers.
The boy, Wadi, 19, was
a rootless orphan who
joined up with a Pales-
tinian faction in south
Lebanon before he was
in his teens - for much
the same reason that a
ghetto kid might try to
join the toughest gang
in the neighborhood.
At 16, he became a
member of the PPS. But
according to friends, he
was prone to deep de-
pressions and unlucky
with girls: an adolescent
with a death wish.
The girl, Shona, 17,
who died when her car
bomb blew up at Bator
of-Shut on April 9, had
only joined the PPS.
Hers was an especially
tragic case. According
to a reliable source, she
had run away from her
family after she had be-
come pregnant and been
abandoned by her boy-
friend. In her distress,
she was looking for self-
immolation.
The PPS has active
cells in . New York,
Chicago and Oregon, but
has not been implicated
in political violence here.
Another kamikaze in-
cident involving the
Shiite Amal suggests
that, even among the
Ayatollah's adherents,
the Islamic vision of
shahadah may not be
the primary motive for
a suicide bomber.
Israeli soldiers cap-
tured a 18-year-old
Shiite, Muhammad Biro?
In January before he
could carry out a kami-
kaze misson. He told his
captors that he had
agreed to perform a sui-
cide mission after his
father had been badly
Injured in a car acci-
dent. He claimed that
his family was starving
and had no money to
pay for brain surgery
urgently required by his
father. By his account,
his recruiters promised
that his family would be
provided for and that
'his father would receive
the medical treatment
he deserved.
The boy seems to have
agreed to offer himself
up in the same spirit
that a man beset by
crushing financial prob-
lems might think of
doing away with him-
self so his family can
collect the insurance.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8
The men behind the mad bombers
s
the U.S. should not take
reprisals for terrorist
acts, It is often said that
you can't deter a suicide
bomber. This may be
true, whether the
kamikaze Is a religious
fanatic or a pathatic,
brainwashed kid.
But you can both pun.
ish and deter the control.
lees.
Who are the men behind
AMONG those who al. cent t of the a e )
wa Had reason
Shiites are the larnest
f oamm?gi!7,.:1!wt'xa ...r
reelected president. She
fled to Baghdad earlier
this year to Join her how
band, Shdk All TehraaL
She described how
Ayatollah Montazeri,
the bead of the Ministry
of Islamic Revolution.
chairs a powerful coor-
dinating council that
aims to export Khomei-
ni's Ideas throughout the
Muslim world.
The Immediate goal I.
to turn Lebanon (where
trolled terrorist state.
Longer term, Montazerl's
council Is working for the
overthrow of the conser-
vative Gulf monarchies.
Pro-Khomeini Islamic
Revolutionary Organi.
zations are active in
Bahrain (where more
than half the population
is Shiite), Kuwait and
Saudi Arabia (where
there Is a high concen-
tration of Shiites In the
eastern oil fields).
'l+ehraa . has . give, W. K ::!q council. In.
scone Iieiu~~nsl K e' ; th*Ies'. M6gr'adifiter of
Mrs. Bader Ehamenet the Lumumbs University In
sister of Iran's recently Moscow, used by the
A recent refugee from
crdtment office. Other
alumni Include "CYrlos,"
the notorious Venesudan-
born terrorIat.
Another member of the
council Is AbasNI 7&ma-
ni, better known as "Abu
Shan!," be was the origi-
nal chief of Khomeini's
Revolutionary Guards.
Accordlnlf to one i
lfence source. e s
with the operatloa. The
pared meetlup be
tween HojatoieOam
Whalegl, Khomdni's chief
advisor on Arabi affairs,
and Shifts terror lead-
en In Lebanon..
"Abu SharW has at-
tended training courses
In the Soviet Union and
East Germany.
This opens up the ques-
tion: Are the Soviets also
workhug behind the scenes
In a bid to cripple the
Reagon administration
through ? new hostage
AYATOLLAH WAWAZUI
o%eel eoarcN head.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8
ARTICLE
ON
NEW YORK POST
17 October 1985
THE SOVIET
STAKE IN
By ROBERT
Moss
WORLD
TERROR
ALTHOUGH the Soviets recently fell prey to Muslim ban.
dits in Beirut, Moscow still controls world terrorism, warns
Robert Moss in this fourth of a six-part series. Moss, an au-
thority on terrorism and espionage, is the editor of "Early
Warning," a newsletter on intelligence, and the author of
"Moscow Rules" (soon in paperback from Pocket Books).
WHEN terrorists kid
naped four Soviet diplo-
mats in Beirut last
month, a lot of Ameri-
cans said to themselves:
it's about time.
While U.S. and West
European envoys in
Lebanon lived with the
daily threat of the bullet
and the car bomb, the
Soviets seemed to lead
charmed lives. Some
thought the terrorist left
the Russians alone be-
cause they were scared
that Moscow would exact
rapid and ruthless re-
venge.
In fact, the reason the
most active terrorist
groups don't gun for the
Russians is simple: why
bite the hand that feeds
you? The Soviet Bloc,
both directly and via,
subcontractors like
Libya, Syria and North
Korea, provides money,
weapons and training
for terrorists from all
over the world.
In Beirut, the Soviets
at last fell victim to
Lebanon's immensely
complicated communal
vendettas. Forces loyal
to Moscow's ally, Syria,
had laid siege to the
northern town of Tripo-
li. ruled since 1983 by
Sunni fundamentalist
chieftain Sheik Sayid
Shaaban. Hit men from
a little know Sunni group
grabbed the Soviet diplo-
mats to force Moscow to
put pressure on Syria's
President Assad to call
off the siege. It's not clear
whether any of the Rus-
sians - some of whom
are believed to be KGB
officers - had been in
contact with their abduc-
tors before the kidnap.
Now one of them, Arka-
dly Katakov, is dead, shot
at point blank range, his
body dumped near the
shelled out soccer sta-
dium. And the kidnapers
are threatening to bomb
the Soviet Embassy.
For once, the Soviets
came up against terror-
ists they couldn't con-
trol or intimidate. But it
would be wildly optimis-
tic to imagine that this
episode is going to
change Moscow's long-
term relationship with
the international terror
network. The Soviets
have too much at stake.
Marxist-Leninist ideol-
ogy consecrates the use
of political violence, and
Moscow has been en-
gaged in international
terrorism since the earli-
est days of the Soviet
state. In 1922, Soviet
agents met in Rome with
the leader of Nasrat al
Hakh ("Victory of
Right"), an Egyptian ter-
rorist group, to plot the
assassination of Lord Al-
lenby and other British
officials.
Today, when the Sovi-
ets are embarked 'on a
"peace offensive" to un-
dermine U.S. efforts to
rebuild NATO defenses,
they don't want to be
seen to be involved in
terrorism. Hence their
panicky propaganda ef-
forts to cover up one
smoking gun: the
proven involvement of
the Bulgarian secret
service, a wholly owned
subsidiary of the Soviet
KGB in the plot to mur-
der Pope John Paul II.
There are two ultra-
secret departments in
Moscow that are
charged with planning
and executing "wet
operation" (mokrie
dela) including assassi-
nations. One Is Depart-
ment 8 of the KGB's Di-
rectorate responsible
for running illegal
agents. According to a
recent KGB defector, it
relies on the Bulgarians,
more than any other
satelite service, to sup-
ply hit men.
The other department
is the so-called "Second
Direction" of Soviet
Military Intelligence,
the GRU, which ar-
ranges for training for
Third World terrorists,
some of whom are
maintained as "sleeper
agents." to be mobilized
in time of need for joint
operations with the
GRU-directed Spetsnaz
forces, Russia's answer
to the Green Berets or
Britains SAS.
The Spetsnaz units
muster a total of about
30,000 men. Some are
sent to scout targets in
the West in the guile of
visiting athletes.
The proficiency of
these Soviet profes-
sional killers was
demonstrated in Kabul,
Afghanistan, in Decem-
ber 1979, when a hit
team was sent in ahead
of the tanks to assassi-
nate Afghan President
Hafizollah Amin. They
stormed Amin's palace,
and cut him in' half with
machine-gun fire.
More than 1000 Pales-
tinian terrorists have
been trained at camps
inside the USSR, like the
ones at Odessa and at
Simferopol in the
Crimea. The notorious
Venezuelan-born "Car-
los" attended the Pa-
trice Lumumba Univer-
sity in Moscow, whose
faculty includes a high
proportion of KGB tal-
ent spotters. So did key
radicals in the present
Iranian regime who are
involved in sponsoring
international terrorism.
Many more terrorists
receive training under
Soviet Bloc instructors
at camps in East Ger-
many, Czechoslovakia,
Bulgaria, Cuba, Nicara-
gua, Lebanon, Libya and
South Yemen.
But in their dealings
with Terror Inc.. the
Soviets prefer - wher-
ever feasible - to con-
ceal their hand by work-
ing through middle
men, or cut-outs.
In the Western Hemi-
sphere, the Soviets princi-
pal subcontractors are
Cuba and Nicaragua,
both profitably engaged
in the drug-for-guns bar-
ter trade between cocaine
traffickers and "narco-
terrorists" in Colombia.
Bolivia and, most recent-
ly, Venezuela.
In the Middle East,
where rival clans and
Islamic sects use terror
against each other as
well as against western-
and "Zionist" targets,
the Soviets spread their
beta. They have used the
PLO as a proxy to train
and arm 10,000 terror.
ists from as far afield as
Sri Lanka and Argen-
tina and to provide ac-
cess to the conservative
Gulf monarchies.
The Soviets don't
"own" any Middle East
government, with the
possible exception of the
orthodox Marxist-
Leninist regime in
South Yemen.
The three most ag-
gressive terror states in
the region are Syria.
Libya and Iran. None of
them is a Soviet satel-
lite. Syria's Assad is an
astute political poker
player, preoccupied
with the survival of his
own extended family,
through . hamula.
Libya's Khadafy is er-
ratic, prone to mes-
sianic delusions. And
Iran's Ayatollah thinks
that the ' Soviet Union,
though perhaps not a
"Great Satan" on the
order of the U.S., is at
least somewhat devil-
ish; Khomeini has exe-
cuted large numbers of
Tudah (Communists)
Party members and al-
leged KGB agents and
backs the guerrillas
fighting the Soviet In-
vaders in Afghanistan.
However, the Soviets
exercise effective con-
trol over Syria and
Libya through their
massive arms ship-
ments, their thousands
of advisors on the -
ground, and the recruit-
ment of hundreds of
KGB and GRU agents
inside the local armed
forces and intelligence
services. They're using
the same techniques to
ensure that the Iranian
mullahs continue ter,
0-44 1
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 4MMONr
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focus their wrath on the
U.S. and its allies.
The dividends can be
enormous. Remember
how the Beirut hostage
crisis completely para-
lyzed the Carter Admin-
istration for most of its
last year? The Soviets
remember too. It's of
more than passing in-
terest that the man be-
hind the seizure of the
U.S. Embassy, Ayatol-
lah Khoeiniya, was re-
cently made Iran's At-
torney General.
Today, Khoeiniya is re- ,
sponsible for the SAVA-
MA. Iran's security and
intelligence organization,
and is a key figure on the
coordinating council,
headed by Ayatollah
Montazeri, that plots ter-
rorism acts abroad.
The Soviets would love
to see the Reagan admin-
istration hamstrung and
exhausted by a rerun of
the Tehran hostage crisis.
Hence the value of "non-
attributable" friends in
Terror Inc
JOHN PAUL II
Survived KGS-
backed death plot.
HAFIZOLLAH AMIN
Afghan big gunned
down by Soviets.
2.
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NEW YORK POST
ARTICLE APPEARED 18 October 1985
ON pas
DRUGS &
0
BLOOD$
THE CUBAN
CONNECTION
Terrorists don't live on bread alone. To feed and arm their
guerrilla bands, some Red nations have resorted to another
deadly practice: drug smuggling. In part five of this six-part
Poet series, Robert Moss, an authority on espionage and ter-
rorism, details the dangers of the "narco-terrorists."
By ROBERT
MOSS
OFF the northern coast
of Cuba is a tiny island,
Cayo Piedra, that has
been fortified and is
teeming with security
guards armed with au-
tomatic weapons.
It is a regular port of
call for Cuban warships
and for President Fidel
Castro and his brother
Raul, the armed forces
supremo.
According to U.S. in-
vestigators, it is also a
base for drug racketeers
operating under Cuban
protection.
Former Colombian
deputy Pablo Escobar
Gaviria, on his coun-
try's most wanted list
because of his alleged
involvement in a major
cocaine ring, and fugi-
tive U.S. financier Ro-
bert Vesco have both
found safe haven in
Cuba. They are both
said to be active in ar-
ranging drug deals that
net the Castro regime a
minimum of $10 million
a month.
The Colombian is said
to travel to Nicaragua
frequently on Cuban
military planes. Last
Christmas, he report-
edly made a flamboyant
gift to a Colombian
guerrilla movement
that controls cocaine
laboratories and mari-
juana plantations in the
Guajira peninsula: 1000
Czech-manufactured
pistols. engraved with
his own initials.
There is a mounting
body of evidence that the
Castro government and
several other pro-Soviet
regimes - notably Bul-
garia, Syria and Nicara-
gua - are skimming the
profits of the drug traffic
to finance international
terrorism and other cov-
ert activities.
Four top Havana offi-
cials, including the head
of Castro's navy, have
been indicted by a fed-
eral court in South Flor-
ida on charges of direct
involvement with a Co-
lombian ring smuggling
cocaine into the U.S.
Colombia is the source
of 75 percent of the co-
caine and more than
half the marijuana that
is smuggled into the
U.S. each year. The gov-
ernment, with U.S. en-
couragement, has been
trying to crack down on
the druglords. but they
have been fighting back.
Last year, Colombia's
Justice Minister. Ro-
drigo Lars, Bonilla, was
murdered and since
then more than a hun-
dred Colombian police-
men have died in shoot-
outs. Mob bosses are of-
fering a bounty $300,000
for the lives of U.S. drug
enforcement agents as-
sisting the anti-drug
campaign.
The unholy alliance
that has been spawned
between organized crime
and Marxist regimes and
the revolutionary groups
they sponsor poses a seri-
ous threat to the stability
of U.S. allies in the Wdst-
ern Hemisphere. It also
provides unlimited funds
for terror operations
against U.S. targets.
The major terrorist
groups in Colombia are
all profiting from the
drug trade. The largest
and oldest of them is the
FARC (Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colom-
bia) which was founded
as a military wing of the
Communist Party in
1964. Its chief, Manuel
Marulanda Velez, is
known by his nickname
Tirofijo. or "Sureshot."
The FARC levies a war
tax (gramaje) of 30 per-
cent of the estimated
profits of drug traffickers
in the regions it controls.
Another group, the
April 19th Movement
("M-19") pioneered
"narco-terrorism" with
the help of Cuban offi-
cials In Bogota and
Panama. M-19 has close
ties to Libya as well as
Cuba. Some of its lead-
ers, including Hector
Pineda, the M-19 chief in
the Cali district, have
been trained in the Mid-
dle East.
M-19 kidnaped and
held the then U.S. Am-
bassador to Colombia.
Diego Asencio, and 17
other diplomats for
more than two months
in 1981. It staged a Cas-
tro-backed mass inva-
sion attempt that same
year, with 200 comman-
dos trained in Cuba, that
inspired the Colombian
government to break off
diplomatic relations
with Havana.
Flush with funds from
its drug connections, the
M-19 now plays a leading
role in coordinating ter-
ror groups from other
Latin American coun-
tries. It is believed to
have played midwife to a
new terrorist movement,
the Alfaro Lives organi-
zation, that is trying to
undermine Ecuador's
fledgling democracy. It
also has close contacts
with the "Shining Path"
guerrillas in Peru and
Chile's MIR.
According to intelli-
sources, some 1400
terrorists mom both the
and t e FARC are
now receiving guerrilla
trainin in Nicar a
The Colombian govern-
ment is alarmed that the
Sandinistas' enthusiasm
for exporting Marxist
revolution seems to have
spread beyond El Salva-
dor and Central America.
Amongst documents
captured by the Colom-
bian army during a raid
on a guerrilla arms
cache was a letter al-
legedly signed by Nica.
raguan President Dan-
iel Ortega. It contained
details of a revolution-
ary offensive planned
for next year, involving
the landing of hundreds
of guerrillas from Cuba
and Nicaragua.
Colombia's narco-ter-
rorists pose a fast-grow-
ing threat to neighbor-
ing Venezuela too. As a
result of the crackdown
in Colombia, some of the
major druglords and
their terrorist friends
have moved their bases
over the border, into the
state of Zulia and the
thinly populated Amazo.
nas territory.
Venezuelan Justice
Minister Jose Manzo
Gonzales narrowly es-
caped the same-fate as
his Colombian counter.
Part in 1984. He has ac-
cused a Colombian dru-
glord with friends and
business partners in
M-19 of having plotted
his assassination.
RODRIGO BONILLA
Slain after ordering
drug crackdown,
ROBERT VISCO
Fugitive financier
said to aid Castro
with drug deals.
DANIEL ORTEGA
Nicaragua chief joins
Fidel in training
guerrillas.
DIEGO ASENCIO
U.S. diplomat kid-
naped in 1981.
Continued
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Secret plans of the Tripo/i Moscow axis
WHEN Libya's Col.
Khadafy threatens to
"eat the kidneys" of his
enemies - the Ameri-
cans and the "Zionists"
- there's a tendency in
the West to write him Ott
as a crackpot.
The Soviets see him
rather differently. They
treat him as a precious
ally - which he Is.
According to a reliable
into ence source,
ya recently became
e secon ddle East-
ern country to receive
Soviet SA-5 missiles.
They are being deployed
at two bases on the
Mediterranean coast,
threatening . NATO
bases in Sicily, and
around the al-Kufrah
oasis, within striking
distance of Sudan and
southern Egypt.
A top Czech intelli-
ence ffi
ervin a, who is said to
handle liaison with tor.
rorist group.. recently
flew to Libya, It w
a reed that his service,
the t , w Post about
40 additional intent.
enceeofficers to Tripoli,
cl cludin a large ntin.
en o communications
specialists Some of
these Czech spies will
use the cover of trade or-
ganizations like KOVO
and FERROMET.
They will complement
the estimated 5000
Soviet military person-
nel and thousands more
East Europeans now in
Libya. These exerts in-
clude the bin deleaatlon
from East Germany's
Ministry of State Se,
curity that supervises
l~hadafv's intelligence
services.
The Soviets have
created huge arms
dumps in Libya, pre.
MOAMMAR KHADAFY
Soviets' best pal.
positioning weapons for
a future conflict. They
have a chain of air and
naval bases. Soviet engi-
neers have been work-
ing on a big new naval
facility at the Libyan
port of al-Bardiyah.
They have built a root .
over half a mile of dry
docks to conceal what is
LOUIS FARRAKHAN
Libya beneficiary.
going on from U. S. satel.
I e surveillance,
This Isn't the way you
treat a madman.
In fact, Khadafy is a
prize asset for the Soviets.
This isn't just because of
the strategic value of the
real estate he holds at
gunpoint. It is also be-
cause he can load up the
mdet dubious friends with
cash and Soviet-made
weapons and leave the
Russians free to say they
don't know a thing about
It.
The long list of the
beneficiaries of Khada-
fy's largesse includes
Central American guer-
rillas; the IRA; Muslim
fanatics In Indonesia,
the Philippines and
southern Thailand;
Egyptians fundamen-
talists; and America's
own Louis Farrakhan.
Khadafy's agents have
been implicated in assas-
sination plots against
Egypt's late President
Sadat and against Presi-
dent Libyan
The dictator has
been notably active of
late in trying to install
pro-Soviet revolutionaries
in power in strategic is-
lands like Mauritius and
French-owned Reunion,
in the Indian Ocean, and
New Caledonia, In the
Pacific.
Khadafy's recent ex-
pulsion of foreign work.
ers, including 30,000
Tunisians, provided per.
fect cover for the infil.
tration of Libyan
agents. It's in the cards
that some of those Tuni.
sian expellees will now
be used in a Libyan plot
to punish President
Bourguiba for refusing
landing rights to that
Egyptian plane with the
hijackers on board.
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AtTl',;LE AFr- ED
ON PAGE
19 October 1985
FIGHTING BACK WHEN
TERROR HITS AT HOME
ALTHOUGH past episodes have
been few. U.S. soil Is n?t Immune to
attacks by violent radicals, warns
terrorism and espionage authority
Robert Moss In his final Installment
of this special Post series.
By ROBERT
MOSS
THERE'S an ugly
rumor about Yasser
Arafat circulating in-
side the PLO itself. It
may help to explain why
he authorized the hi-
jacking of the Achille
Laura, and why he is
likely to license a new
wave of terror attacks.
According to intelli-
gence sources, Arafat
received a tip-off that
the Israelis were about
to strike half an hour be-
fore the Israeli air force
attacked his headquar-
ters in Tunis at the start
of this month. This ex-
plains why Arafat and
key lieutenants like Abu
Iyad and Abu al-Mutas-
sam (PLO operations
chief) fled the scene be-
fore the Israeli war-
planes arrived.
What is being said is
that Arafat didn't bother
to warn second-echelon
leaders to evacuate the
headquarters. Lesser
PLO chiefs, including
Jamal Hamami and All
al-Zabek of the "Force 17"
terror command, were
left to perish in the rub-
ble.
Whether or not the
rumor L true, the episode
has left a residue of bit-
terness among the PLO
contingent in Lebanon.
From Arafat's point of
view, It's a highly com-
bustible situation. His
PLO fighters are frus-
trated. lacking a land-
base of their own from
which to strike at Israel.
Some have been ap-
proached by Syrian and
oust Arafat as seeking PLO
supremo or, failing that,
toPLOstage a new split in the
Only by a new terror of-
fensive abroad can Arafat
hope to divert the ener-
gies of his restive follow-
ers and defuse the threat
to his own leadership.
Since the seajack ended
in disaster - despite the
Italians' release of Abul
Abbas, Arafat's confidant
and the mastermind in
the hijack - Arafat's sup-
porters will be driven to
try again.
The U.S. could be the
main target.
In the past, many
more Americans have
died at the hands of ter-
rorists abroad than in-
side the U.S. This does-
n't mean that the U.S. is
somehow magically im-
mune to the orgy of vio-
lence taking place in the
Middle East, Europe
and Latin AXterica.
The support networks
are already in Discs here
for a terror campaign by
extremists bent on pun-
ishing the U.S. for its per-
ceived policies in the
Middle East and Central
America.
Here's the kind of sce-
nario that has been preoc-
cupying security experts
since the capture of the
PLO hijackers:
? A PLO hit team is
sent to the U.S. to exact
reprisals. It selects a
high-profile target, say,
the headquarters of a
well-known Jewish or-
ganization in New York.
The terrorists, new to
the U.S. find their target
too well-guarded. But
they see, in the phone
book, that the next entry
is for an organization
with an almost Identical
name. It happens to be a
Jewish nursery school.
Bingo: they have a ae-
fenseless target for a
re taking.
beeme that
(And
these people have no
compunction about tak-
ing children's lives.)
I've suppressed real
names here because the
scenario is only too
plausible. It's an exam-
ple of the arbitrary logic
by which terrorists se-
lect "targets of oppor-
tunity." It's a reminder
of how many easy tar-
gets an open, demo-
cratic society offers for
terrorist attack.
Here's another scenario
that security analysts
have been studying:
? The Reagan Admin-
istration, either by di-
rect action or through
subcontractors (like the
anti-communist govern-
ments in Guatemala
and Honduras) deals a
body-blow to the Marx-
ist regime In Nicaragua.
The Sandinistas. some
of whose chiefs were
trained in PLO camps,
provide a base for the
Cubans, the PLO and
terrorists from all over
the region.
The so-called "emer-
gency response network,"
a grouping of pro-Sandin-
ista organizations in
more than 80 US. towns
and cities, springs into
action. Offices are closed,
roads and bridges are
blockaded, military bases
picketed by demonstra-
tors.
Terrorist cells, organ-
ized and infiltrated Into
the U. by Cuban in a i-
ence are sen in o ac.
tion. to ina- a van age
of the chaos. One avail-
able uni unit
is the Castro-
based Puerto Rican
FALN, which has
carried out bombings in
the New York area. One
of Its leaders was
caught in possession of
detailed blueprints of
the power system of
lower Manhattan -
presumably not because
he was pursuing ad-
vanced studies in elec-
trical engineering.
The FALN's sister
group, the Macheteros
wiped out most of the
fighter planes of the Air
National Guard in Puerto
Rico and used an ad-
vanced LAW ground-to-
ground missile against
the FBI. headquarters in
San Juan, narrowly mias-
ma its target.
The second scenario.
according to the profes-
sionals, is no less realis.
tic than the first.
The masters of inter-
national terrorism have
friends In America.
There is Colonel Khada.
fy's friend Louis Farrak-
han, whore gospel of race
hate semitaam vulgar anti-
are creating a
climate of violence. Far.
takhan boasts of a $ mil-
lion "loan" Khadafy gave
his Nabs of Islam or-
ganlzation.
Khadafy has been cu.
tivating U.S. radicals
since the early 19704. In
recent years, the accent
has been on militant
black organizations like
Farrakhan's group, the
Republic of New Africa,
and a shadowy Califor-
nia-based outfit called
Black Argus.
Khadafy's Intelligence
service IS rlnRPiv Allied
to one of the deadliest
Palestinian terror
groups, George Ha-
bash's PFLP, which pio-
neered aircraft -hijack-.
ings and has integrated
non-Arabs - notably
Germans, Japanese and
Latin Americans - into
its own ranks. The
PFLP has active cells in
the U.S., in southern
California, Chicago,
New York and other
areas with significant
Arab communities.
Another Khadafy ally,
Syria, exercises effec-
tive control over an-
other secret terror
group that is well-estab-
lished in the U.S. This is
ASALA - the Armenian
Secret Army for the Lib-
eration of Armenia.
ASALA hit men gunned
down a Turkish diplo.
mat in Los Angeles.
The Iranian network is
bigger still. It includes a
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Washington-based group.
the Islamic Guerrillas in
America (IGA), some of
whose members were im-
plicated in the 1980 mur-
der off an anti-Khomeini
Iranian at his home in
suburban Maryland. IGA
members. who are
mostly black ex-convicts,
have been employed as
security guards at the
"Iranian Interests Sec-
tion" at the Algerian Em-
bassy in Washington, D.C.
And then there are
Fidel Castro's friends. A
huge support apparatus
for Latin American revo-
lutionaries has been
created in the U.S., under
the supervision of the
twin Cuban spy agencies:
the DGI and the Departa
mento de America.
which specializes in
subversion and terror-
ism in the Western
Hemisphere.
Let's prevent it from happening herei
,
AS CAN be seen from
this Post series, the men
behind Terror Inc. have
abundant resources in
the U.S. They may now
have the motive to bring
their dirty wars here.
What can be done to
reduce the risk?
Tighteaft up security
around possible targets
can never be a sufficient
answer. There are just
too many targets on offer.
If not a cruise ship, then a
tour bus. If not a Jewish
organisation, then a nurs-
ery school.
An effective answer to
terrorism depends on
three things: penetra.
tion, pre-emption and
punishment.
? Penetration means
recruiting In ormers
and i i trat me -
ence a ent n
s Ins a r-
rorist organizations. I
have already reported
the 1073 incident when a
Black September terror-
ist planted three car.
bombs in New York, out.
side the Israeli consul.
ate, the El Al office and
on Wall Street. He was
foiled because of rood
intelligence - not an
a ent in this case but
an FBI wiretap.
? With foreknowledge
of the terrorists' plans,
the authorities can move
to preempt them. The Is.
raelis, with multiple
sources inside Arab ter-
ror groups, have been
able to tip off the U.B. and
allied governments in ad.
vanceof terrorist strikes.
Alerted H the Israelis,
for exam We--Wet
German authorities
were able to intercept a
PFLP it m en rou
tow up o amps
West Berlin - a target
selected I v ast er-
?
i_g egell~ens.
? Negotiations can't
always be ruled out. But
the message can and
must be sent out loud
and clear that, every
time terrorism is com.
mitted, those responsi.
ble with illegal acts
must be made to pay.
The Israelis sent that
message when they dis.
patched their warplanes
to Tunis. To date, the U.S.
has failed to send it to the
men responsible for the
Beirut bombings and the
TWA hijack and, for that
matter, to the people who
arranged the long agony
at the U.B. Embassy in
Tehran.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504600002-8