Posted on 11/14/2015 4:15:37 PM PST by BBell
Lets see how Russia (KGB) deals with Islamic terrorist hostage takers
Are you among those frustrated Americans who have wondered how the Soviet Union's only hostage crisis in Lebanon was resolved in just a month, while the plight of the six U.S. hostages held there continues to drag on without any
break in sight?
Well, according to the Jerusalem Post, the Soviets turned the trick by forgoing diplomacy in favor of a brutally more direct approach to the problem.
Simply put, they presented the kidnappers with chilling proof that terror can cut both ways. Literally!
The crisis began last Sept. 30, you might recall, when four attaches from the Soviet Embassy were kidnapped in Beirut by Muslim extremists. Western news agencies received individual photos of the four men that same night, each with an automatic pistol pressed against his head.
The photos were accompanied by a note from a hitherto unknown group calling itself the Islamic Liberation Organization. The message warned that the four Soviet captives would be executed, one by one, unless Moscow pressured pro- Syrian militiamen to cease shelling positions held by the pro-Iranian fundamentalist militia in Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli.
Although the Soviets attempted to open some channel for negotiations with the kidnappers, there was no immediate let-up in the shelling at Tripoli.
Only two days after the kidnappings, the body of one of the four kidnapped men, a 30-year-old consular secretary named Arkady Katov, was found, shot through the head, on a Beirut trash dump.
Apparently, that's when the Soviets dropped the idea of sweet talk and turned the matter over to the KGB.
Less than four weeks later, the three remaining hostages were freed on foot only 150 yards from the Soviet Embassy.
The pro-Syrian daily Al Sharq credited their release to the clandestine efforts of Brig. Gen. Ghazi Kanaan, the chief of intelligence for Syrian forces in Lebanon.
Western journalists reported that the kidnappers were forced to free the hostages because a block-to-block search by pro-Syrian militiamen was closing in on them.
But it wasn't until last week that Jerusalem Post diplomatic correspondent Benny Morris uncovered the most compelling reason why the three Soviets were released, emaciated and tired, but otherwise unharmed.
According to Morris, the KBG determined the kidnapping to be the work of the Shiite Muslim group known as Hezbollah, or Party of God. This was the same radical pro-Iranian faction that figured so belligerently in the mass hostage-taking from the TWA airliner at Beirut Airport last June.
Unlike the approach the United States used to resolve the TWA crisis, however, the Soviets did not bother negotiating with Hezbollah through Nabih Berri, Lebanon's justice minister and leader of the Shiite Amal militia.
Instead, the KGB kidnapped a man they knew to be a close relative of a prominent Hezbollah leader. They then castrated him and sent the severed organs to the Hezbollah official, before dispatching the unfortunate kinsman with a bullet in the brain.
In addition to presenting him with this grisly proof of their seriousness, the KGB operatives also advised the Hezbollah leader that they knew the identities of other close relatives of his, and that he could expect more such packages if the three Soviet diplomats were not freed immediately.
The message was a lot more extreme than Ronald Reagan's vague allusions to using "Rambo next time," but the swift release of the three remaining hostages indicated that the Hezbollah big shot couldn't handle having terror shoved back in his face.
Post reporter Morris quoted unidentified observers in Jerusalem as noting:
"This is the way the Soviets operate. They do things - they don't talk.
"And this is the language the Hezbollah understand."
Jigalojey: So what have we learned from this ladies and gentleman?? Stop ####### around with islamic terrorists and treating them like humans, the Russians know whats up but then again they lack the political correct ******** culture that we unfortunately have.
I remember the pictures. When the police/troops stormed the theater all the terrorist that were still alive but passed out from the gas were dispatched with a bullet to their head.
If they find who placed the bomb on the plane the Russians will probably level the village he was from. And of course make it look like an accident. The Israelis use bulldozers, the Russians use bombs.
“Germans caught wearing US Army uniforms during the Battle of the Bulge were executed...”
I have no problem with that. Or executing relatives that are terrorists. I guess I would hope that we are better than taking innocent relatives and executing them. Perhaps I’m too naive.
Of course back then in the good-old days when terrorists had a soul, the KGB could get results with their relatives. Now the terrorists just blow everybody up. No ransom demands or foolish things like that. “Oh - my mother? Well, if Allah wills it....”
i thought “how terrible is this writer!!” lol.
i’m no genius, obviously, but figured it out towards the end.
Have no problem believing they (and I hope we) have done extreme things to save our own.
I can’t print what I’d do here to save one of my nieces or nephews.
As for you military guys, i dont WANT to know what you would do :)
My grandfather was one of those soldiers who executed Germans dressed up as Americans during the Battle of the Bulge. By today’s BS rules of Engagement, Obama would have him and others in Leavenworth.
Difficult to find in the RAT Party.
Yep, that's the Russian antidote.
Ya. No word yet, though.
No apology necessary, I noted the date correct usage of “Soviet”, but figured a numerical date would assist, as some FReepers believe Soviet and Russian are identical, and others somtimes confuse the two.
I’m sorry - I’m ashamed to admit that I just let all the other terms pass me by - TWA caught my eye because a former boss used to fly for them...as did several students my husband taught to fly years ago.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.