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• German government set up the whole hijacking? (Score:1)

  by jand (379)

  ... that the German government set up the whole hijacking ...
  
  I've never heard that one before, and it doesn't make any sense to me.
  
  As to the botched police operation, that is precisely the reason: the people involved were ordinary policemen with no counter-terrorism experience at all. Mossad chief Zvi Zamir offered the help of Sayeret Matkal, but the German government arrogantly turned it down, claiming that their own "security forces" could handle the situation. It was only after the massacre that the
  • Re:German government set up the whole hijacking? (Score:1)

    by pudge (1)

    I'll readily admit that the source -- Jamal Al Gashey -- is suspect, since he's a horribly evil man who deserves to die. However, he has no motive that I can tell to lie; the German officer whom they interviewed (I can't recall his name) said that it was very possible; and the circumstances themselves were apparently suspect (small number of passengers on the hijacked plane, no women, no children, etc.).
    
    Zvi Zamir was interviewed for the documentary as well. It's a good work, you can see it and decide fo
    • Re:German government set up the whole hijacking? (Score:2, Informative)

      by jand (379)

      Oops, I somehow misunderstood this. For some reason I believed the film claimed that the government set up the massacre at the olympics; the word "hijack" didn't really register with me.
      
      Unfortunately I can readily believe that they made some dirty deal to get the terrorists out of the country afterwards. There is (or at least was) an unsavory tradition among European governments to cut deals with foreign terrorists and only play hardball with the domestic ones.
      • Re:German government set up the whole hijacking? (Score:1)

        by pdcawley (485)

        There is (or at least was) an unsavory tradition among European governments to cut deals with foreign terrorists and only play hardball with the domestic ones.

        
        And that would be distinct from the US government cutting deals with the Contras in Nicaragua or the Taliban in Afghanistan in what way precisely?
        • Re:German government set up the whole hijacking? (Score:1)

          by pudge (1)

          Because the US doesn't have a tradition of domestic terrorism. :)/2
          • Re:German government set up the whole hijacking? (Score:1)

            by pdcawley (485)

            If one were being picky, one could claim that the US exists as a seperate country because of a successful campaign of terrorism. But I wouldn't want to do this.
• Ah yes (Score:1)

  by pdcawley (485)

  I saw that documentary too. Quite staggering levels of incompetence on the part of the German police. Some of it forgiveable (security of the village for instance; it wasn't until there'd been attacks like this that people realised there was a threat), lots of it not. The behaviour of the press, in running the live feed of the German forces preparing to attack the appartments was utterly irresponsible for instance. As was letting the cameras that close in the first place.
  
  However, there was no way on this
  • Re:Ah yes (Score:1)

    by jand (379)

    Ironically, 5 years later they exactly the reverse situation: a hijacked Lufthansa machine was sitting on the Mogadishu airfield and they had to convince the Somalian government to let GSG9 (and SAS) operators perform the rescue attempt instead of Somalia forces. I believe they actually trained with the Somalians until they admitted that they couldn't pull it off themselves.
    
    I remember watching an interview with the German official (Wischnewski) leading the negotiations with the Somalian president. He pro
  • Re:Ah yes (Score:1)

    by pudge (1)

    I believe the documentary said that German law prohibited the army from taking over, that they had to do it with their police or other domestic security forces. Maybe something like the CIA not being allowed to act inside America's borders? Dunno.
    • Re:Ah yes (Score:1)

      by pdcawley (485)

      Ooh look, we have a sudden group of volunteer police officers with just the right training for this sort of thing. I do believe they've all just resigned their commissions in the German army...