Blog 8: The Munich Massacre

Blog 8

                        On September 5, 1972, 11 Israeli athletes of the Munich Olympic were taken hostage, and killed by the Palestinian terrorist organization, Black September, in one of the most infamous and widely accepted acts of modern terrorism, known as the Munich Massacre¹. In his book, Comparative Politics, David J. Samuels offers a definition of terrorism as “threatened or actual use of violence for political purposes by non-state actors, directed particularly against civilian targets…”² Through the example of the Munich Massacre, because the terrorist organization civilians were harmed, the group was transnational, and it tightened the security policies of other countries, it is clear that Samuels offers a reasonable definition of terrorism; however, the definition is not complete due to Black September’s involvement in the Palestinian political party, the Fatah.³                                                                                                                                             In the Munich Massacre, the eleven Israeli athletes were attacked early in the morning. In the attack, two athletes were killed on sight and the remaining nine were held hostage. The group responsible for the attack was Black September, a group of dissidents of the Fatah political party in Palestine, and their purpose was to negotiate for the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners in Egypt¹. At first, the group Black September denied all ties to Fatah, putting on a front of non-state participants, which would support Samuel’s claim that all terrorists are non-state. However, in a document released by the U.S. Department of State, they identify the Black September Organization as a subset of the Fatah party. It states “there is evidence that the “BSO” operation in Khartoum was carried out with substantial help from Fatah’s Khartoum office and applauded by Fatah radio stations in Cairo and Beirut… Four of Fatah’s general command, including Khalaf, the planner and director of Munich and Khartoum operations, are identified as “BSO” leaders…”³ Although, in most cases, terrorist organizations are comprised of non-state actors, as Samuel’s said, in this case, there is evidence to acknowledge BSO as part of the Fatah political party in Palestine; which offers a counterexample to Samuel’s definition that suggests that not all terrorist organizations operate outside of the state.                            However, the remainder of elements in Samuel’s definition- the harming of civilians, transnational and increasing security policies of other countries, are all accurate aspects of terrorism as exemplified in the Munich Massacre. The victims of the incident were Israeli Olympic athletes, killed at a time when the eyes of the entire world were on them. In Samuel’s definition, he describes terrorism as harming civilians as a more effective way to achieve their political goals, which is true, especially in such a public display. The Israeli athletes were there acting as civilians representing their country and they were killed because the Palestinian group wanted their prisoners in Egypt released. Which ties in Samuel’s next attribute of terrorism as being transnational; the group was Palestinian based, however, they killed Israeli citizens and they attacked in Munich. The tragedy in Munich also promoted a series of counter terrorism organizations of major European nations such as GSG 9 of the German Federal Police and the reorganization of the Special Air Service of the UK⁴. In Samuel’s description, he states terrorist groups try to undermine state strength as opposed to trying to overthrow the state directly, and this was proved true to form in the Munich Massacre, in that the BSO’s goal was to take over Israel, but to release the prisoners in Egypt and target Israel’s strength and effectiveness.                                                                                                                       Samuel’s definition of terrorism, “threatened or actual use of violence for political purposes by non-state actors, directed particularly against civilian targets…”² offers an accurate, with one minor exception, understanding of what terrorism is as opposed to other forms of political violence, which can be proven in the Munich Massacre of 1972. In this act of terrorism, the group BSO killed civilians, crossed nations, and promoted an increase in security, which are all crucial fundamentals that verify Samuel’s explanation of terrorism. However, it was revealed that the BSO was in fact a part of the Fatah party, which shows that not all terrorist organizations are completely non-state- terrorist groups can sometimes have state involvement, although the involvement is kept confidential.

Notes

1. The Independent, “Olympics Massacre: Munich - The Real Story,” accessed November 9, 2012, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/olympics-massacre-munich--the-real-story-524011.html. 

2. David J. Samuels, Comparative Politics, (Minneapolis: Pearson Education, Inc. ), 276.

3. Jewish Virtual Library, “State Department Documents PLO-Black September Link,” accessed November 9, 2012, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/plobso.html.

4. Wikipedia, “Black September,” accessed November 9, 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September_(group).