Let's Talk over Coffee....
| |
Let's Talk over Coffee.... |
About Me What is this blog About My Friends Tag Me My Links |
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 Munich   After watching the movie, I was still a little hazy about what actually happened in Munich that day. The terrorists who held the athletes hostage belonged to the Palestinian terror group known as Black September Organization. This group got its name from the conflict, Black September which began in 1970 when King Hussein of Jordan declared military rule in response to an attempt by freedom fighters to seize his kingdom. The BSO is best known for their kidnap and murder of 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer during the 1972 attack on the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany. 5 of the 8 terrorists were killed by the police during a rescue attempt with the 3 surviving captured hostage takers being eventually released after the hijacking of a Lufthansa airliner. The terrorists demanded the release and safe passage to Egypt of 234 Palestinians and non-Arabs jailed in Israel, along with two German prisoners. Israel's response was immediate and absolute: there would be no negotiation. After failed negotiations, the terrorists were given transport to a nearby airbase where they were to be transferred to an airplane to take them to Cairo. 5 German snipers without special training were chosen to shoot the kidnappers. 5 or 6 German police were stationed inside the waiting jet and they were supposed to overpower the terrorists inspecting the plane so the snipers could clean off the remaining bad guys. However, they were not trained and decided to abandon the mission. The German rescue op was a fiasco. When the terrorists realized they had been fooled, they sprinted back to the hostages and the German snipers opened fire. The terrorists scattered for cover and returned fire. A German policeman in the control tower, Anton Fliegerbauer, was killed by the gunfire.The five German snipers did not have radio contact with each other and were unable to coordinate their fire. None of the snipers was equipped with steel helmets or bullet-proof vests, proving an egregious lack of preparation. None of the rifles was equipped with telescopic sights or night-vision scopes. Later it was discovered that one of the snipers never fired a shot because he was positioned directly in the line of friendly fire, without any protective gear. Later in the battle, when hostage-taker Khalid Jawad attempted to escape on foot, this sniper shot and killed the fleeing terrorist, and was in turn wounded by one of his fellow policemen, who was unaware that he was shooting at one of his own men. One of the remaining terrorist opened fire at the helpless Israeli athletes and tossed a grenade into the helicopter to finish them off. The remaining five hostages were similarly riddled with bullets by another kidnapper. The German authorities imprisoned the three surviving terrorists, and soon formed the counter-terrorism unit GSG9 to provide a more robust hostage rescue response for future incidents. On September 9, Israeli planes bombed Palestinian training camps in Syria and Lebanon On October 29, a German Lufthansa passenger jet was hijacked and demands made for the release of the three surviving terrorists who were being held for trial. Safady and the Al-Gasheys were immediately released by Germany, receiving a tumultuous welcome when they touched down in Libya and giving their own first-hand account of their operation at a press conference broadcast worldwide. Some commentators suspect that the German officials quickly released the terrorists out of fear that Germany's own shortcomings and mishandling of the hostage crisis would be laid bare at a trial. The Mossad was authorized to track down and eliminate those responsible for the Munich massacre. Operation Wrath of God and Spring of Youth were executed for this purpose. |
| Layout Design by Hajira | Thanks to:Getty Images • Blogspot • Blogskins • |
