Watching the Jackals

"Watching the Jackals is about the untold history of Czechoslovakia‘s complex relationship with Middle Eastern terrorists and revolutionaries during the closing decades of the Cold War. Based on recently declassified intelligence files, Daniela Richterova tells the story of Prague‘s engagement with various factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization as well as some of the era‘s most infamous terrorists including Carlos the Jackal, Munich Olympics massacre commander Abu Daoud, and the Abu Nidal Organization. In the 1970s and 1980s, Prague became a favorite destination for these controversial individuals who appeared there to seek refuge, enjoy recreation, or hold secret meetings aimed at securing training, arms, and other forms of support. Richterova explains why terrorists and revolutionaries had long gravitated towards Prague, why Prague was interested in them, but also why in some cases Czechoslovakia‘s powerful security and intelligence apparatus - the StB (Stâatnâi bezpeécnost) - was wary or even fearful of these unpredictable groups. Through research in the unusually thorough and transparent records from the former Czechoslovakia, Richterova offers readers a fascinating history of how states use their spies to pursue covert policies with violent non-state actors. The book also introduces new evidence and nuance into old debates about whether or not the Communist Bloc supported terrorism"--