Page 30 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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Abu Nidal Organization———3

Three suspects in the bombing case pleaded guilty Israelis) would help to forge such unity. The ANO
and cooperated with the prosecution. Their testimony reviled Arafat and other pro-Western Arab leaders
was used in the 2001 trial that resulted in the conviction who, at the time, were willing to support the contin-
of four other men with ties to bin Laden. The four were ued existence of Israel in exchange for an independent
sentenced to life in prison without parole. According to Palestine. Accordingly, the ANO has targeted moder-
the FBI, Abdullah remains a fugitive. The U.S. State ate Arabs as frequently as it has Israelis.
Department is offering a reward of up to $25 million for While working as a recruiter for Al Fatah, al-
information leading to his arrest or conviction. Banna was based in Baghdad, Iraq, a Ba’th strong-
hold run by the dictator Saddam Hussein. Following
See also AL QAEDA; OSAMA BIN LADEN; EAST AFRICAN
al-Banna’s 1974 defection, Hussein helped him to
EMBASSY BOMBINGS
organize the ANO and provided him with funds in
Further Reading exchange for the use of the ANO’s services, primar-
ily against Syrian targets. (The Syrian division of
Bergen, Peter L. Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of the Ba’th had been feuding with the Iraqi Ba’th for
Osama bin Laden. New York: Free Press, 2001. years.)
Eggen, Dan, and David A. Vise. “More Indicted in The ANO as created by al-Banna would emerge
Embassy Attacks; 5 Fugitives Alleged to Be Part of bin as one of the most extensive and effective terrorist
Laden Terrorist Group.” Washington Post, December
21, 2000, A15. networks of the 1980s. Front organizations for the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Most Wanted Terrorists.” ANO were established in almost every Arab nation
October 2001. http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/terrorists/ to attract recruits; these recruits were then sent to
fugitives.htm, May 1, 2002. training camps in the ANO’s host country (at various
Frontline. “Hunting bin Laden.” PBS. http://www.pbs.org/ times Iraq, Syria, and Libya). Once proficient in the
wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/, May 1, 2002. necessary terrorist skills—weapons training, explo-
Reeve, Simon. The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin sives, intelligence, and covert operations—members
Laden, and the Future of Terrorism. Boston: Northeastern joined a small four- or five-person cell and awaited
University Press, 1999. instructions. The ANO was estimated to have about
500 members at its peak, carrying out operations
in more than 20 countries across Europe and the
ABU NIDAL ORGANIZATION Middle East.
The ANO attacked the Syrian embassies in Rome,
aka Arab Revolutionary Brigade; Black June; Black Italy, and Islamabad, Pakistan, and assassinated
September; Fatah Revolutionary Council
PLO representatives in London, Paris, Kuwait, and
Brussels. Its most significant action, however, was a
The Palestinian terrorist group Abu Nidal June 1982 assassination attempt on the Israeli ambas-
Organization (ANO) was the best-organized, best- sador to England, Shlomo Argov, in London. This
funded, and most active terrorist network of the late attack precipitated the Israeli invasion of Lebanon,
1970s and 1980s. where the PLO had its headquarters, and was a serious
Sabri al-Banna, better known by his nom de guerre blow to that organization. A striking feature of the
Abu Nidal (meaning “Father of Struggle”), founded ANO was its versatility and ability to adapt its tactics
the ANO in 1974. Previously a high-ranking member to various situations. ANO attacks have taken the form
of Yasir Arafat’s Fatah, a part of the Palestine Liber- of car bombings, kidnappings, hijackings, suicide
ation Organization (PLO), al-Banna broke with that bombings, and assassinations.
group in 1974 over what he perceived to be its aban- In 1983, Hussein expelled al-Banna and the ANO,
donment of armed struggle for Palestinian liberation in the hope of acquiring Western support for his war
in favor of political settlement. Both al-Banna and with Iran (1980–1988). Al-Banna resettled the ANO
the ANO have been influenced by the ideology of the in Syria; in so doing, he displayed his willingness to
Ba’th party, which called for the unification of abandon former enmity when it was to his advantage,
the Arab peoples into a single state. The ANO saw the a trait that has led some observers to characterize
elimination of Israel as a necessary precursor to Arab the ANO as merely a mercenary organization. The
unity and hoped that fighting a common enemy (the Syrians never fully trusted al-Banna, however, and