THE SUPPORTERS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84B00274R000100040012-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 21, 2007
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: January 29, 1981
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2007/03/21: CIA-RDP84B00274R000100040012-9
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
NATIONAL FOREIGN ASSESSMENT CENTER
29 JANUARY 1981
.MEMORANDUM
Summar
Few .intennat.ionat te4no&L4.t gnoupa openate by themseZvea.
They seek links with o.then gnoup6 and with patnons .to enhance
the.ia cneddntLals, .impnove the.i.n opetat.ionat e66ect.iveness,--and
asbuna them6elvea o6 a continuing base c6 6.i.nanc.ia.e and tog.i6-
t.ica.t 6uppont.
States 6uppont tennon.iat 9n.oup6 bon a van.iety o6 n.eason6,
including the need to establish on a.tneng.then kevotut.ionaky
cnedent.iala in oaden to gain gn.eaten keg ionat on global .in-
6luenee. No state admits to auppon.t.ing tennon.iam; the language
is almost always couched in tenma o6 6uppont ion "nat.ional..e.i.be.na-
tion movements." Likewise, no known tennon.i6t gnoup has even
publicly admitted that it is a tennon.ist gnoup on that it pnac-
ticez ten/O/.%am.
States which become patfona o6 testnon.iat: g; oup6 have to
n.eekon with the potential costs o6 such support.t. Most o6 the
states that 6uppont tennon.iom have also been attacked by .ten-
aon..iat gnoup6 on memben6 o6 hoot t e ?ntett.ig enee 6 eav Lc e6 ..
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Deep.ite a numhen o6 .in.tekna.t-iona.e conventjona de4igned
to neduce .in.tennationat -tehhoh.iem, a genenatt y pe4m.is4ive
.in.tenna.t.iona.e env,i.nonment ex-i4tA, pan.ticu.eaa.ey among thind
wontd nations. Th.ie pek.m.isb.iveneas attows pa.tnon s.ta.te.a, in
the set6-avowed punsu.i.t oc "na.t-ionat tibena.t.ion," to continue
to suppon,t .intieana-t.iona L :tennon.iem with neta.t.i.ve impunity.
Libya
The government of Colonel Qadhafi has the dubious dis-
tinction of being the most prominent of all patron state
supporters of international terrorism. Despite Qadhafi's
repeated public pronouncements that he does not support ter-
rorist groups, there has been a clear and consistent pattern
of Libyan aid to almost every major international terrorist
group,.from.the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) to
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Libya's support for terrorism includes: financing for
terrorist operations, weapons procurement and supply, the
use of training camps and Libyan advisors for guerrilla
training, use of Libyan embassy facilities abroad as support
hpcAc Fr?r terrorist operations, and the use of the Libyan In-
Service as an instrument of international terrorism.
Qadhafi's major interests are in the Middle East; in particular
the destruction of the state of Israel and the overthrow of
conservative and moderate Arab states in the region. Therefore,
most of his efforts are directed toward aiding Middle Eastern.
terrorism. His second concern is to serve as a champion of
national liberation movements, particularly those of an Islamic
cast. Qadhafi's final concern is with silencing those Libyan
expatriates who have criticized his regime. He has no com-
punctions about using his intelligence organizations in campaigns
to assassinate Libyans living abroad.
Groups which have benefited from Libya's patron state sup-
port include:
PIRA
all major Palestinian groups, particularly the
PFLP and the Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC).
Baader-Meinhof Gang/Red Army Faction
Various Latin American terrorist groups
Carlos
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 UNCLASSIFIED
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- Moro National Liberation Front (Philippines)
- Polisario
- various Iranian terrorist groups during the pre-
revolutionary period.
Libyan terrorist training camps have hosted terrorists and
members of "national liberation movements" from Latin America,
Western Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. Libyan financial
aid derived from their oil revenues and Soviet weapons given
originally to Middle East states and national liberation movements
provide the logistical support for the operations of these groups.
South Yemen
The Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
makes camps and other training facilities available to a number
of international terrorist groups. The PFLP maintains a major
terrorist training camp there, and members of the Baader-Meinhof
Gang/Red Army Faction, the Dutch Red Resistance Front and the
Basque Fatherland and Freedom (ETA) have all participated in
PFLP training. South Yemen also hosts radical leftist groups
dedicated to the overthrow of moderate and conservative govern-
ments of the Middle East and Persian Gulf.
In addition to supporting international terrorism through
its training camps, South Yemen has been used as a refuge for
airline hijackers, and has permitted hijacked planes to land
there. Although the Government of South Yemen couches such
support in terms of "humanitarian concern for the passengers,"
hijackers know that South Yemen is a safehaven for them.
Iraq
In recent years, the Iraqi government has dropped its sup-
port for some terrorist groups. During the mid-1970's there
were reports of various West European terrorist groups receiving
Iraqi aid, including training and other logistical support.
While it still provides assistance to some radical Palestinian
organizations, Iraq is no longer a major patron state supporter
of terrorism. However, the Iraqi intelligence service regularly
perpetrates acts of international terrorism against enemies of
the Baghdad regime living abroad and uses its diplomatic facili-
ties as terrorist bases.
UNCLASSIFIED
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Syria
As a major promoter of the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO), Syria has played an increasingly important role in Pales-
tinian activities. It has backed radical elements within the
PLO, including the PFLP, the PFLP-GC, and the Democratic Front
for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP--the Soviet surrogate in
the Palestinian movement).
The Syrian Intelligence Service and Syrian diplomatic facili-
ties abroad have been used in support of various assassination cam-
paigns against the enemies of Syrian President Assad.
Despite its radical, anti-Western rhetoric, the Tehran govern-
ment is not presently an active patron state supporter'of inter-
national terrorism. Many groups would like to receive Iranian
largess, but internal difficulties and the war with Iraq seem to
be Iranian priorities at the moment.
The Government of Iran, however, has permitted its intelligence
service to perpetrate numerous acts of international terrorism.
(These acts do not include the seizure of the American embassy in
Tehran.) Its agents have attacked Iraqi and other targets .in the
Middle East, Western Europe, and probably the US.
The Palestinians
Over the past ten years, the larger Palestinian groups have
become patron state supporters of international terrorism. Al-V
Fatah, the DFLP and the PFLP have provided training, arms, and
other logistical support to the entire spectrum of international
terrorism. Soviet weapons and Libyan and Syrian support have
been funneled through the Palestinians at least to the following
groups:
-PIRA
Dutch Red Resistance Front
- Baader-Meinhof Gang/Red Army Faction
Basque ETA
Armenian terrorists
various Turkish terrorists
most Latin American terrorist groups
.-..Iranian terrorists in the pre-revolutionary period
Japanese Red Army
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The USSR has long been on record as opposing political
terrorism as an instrument of international revolutionary
activity. For both political and ideological reasons, however,
the Soviets support what they regard as legitimate na'Cional lib-
eration movements even though they know that some of that aid,
including weapons, is diverted to international terrorist groups.
Additionally, the Soviets know that some weapons and other aid
given to states such as Libya will be passed on to terrorist
groups.
The argument that the Soviets put forth about not supporting
international terrorism is a semantic one. It is true that there
is no evidence that the Soviets have directly instigated or car-
ried out acts of international terrorism in recent years. It is
also true, however, that without indirect Soviet assistance many
terrorist groups would find their operations severely hampered.
The major go-betweens in the Soviet-terrorism connection are:
- Libya
- Cuba
- South Yemen
- Syria
- Various Palestinian groups
In Latin America, the Soviets use the Cubans as middlemen
for funneling weapons and training to various insurgency move-
ments or terrorist groups. While Cuba may maintain some of
these links without specific guidance from Moscow, it seems
clear that Cuba plays the same role in Latin America as do the
Palestinians and the Libyans in the Middle East.