|
Operation "Wrath of God" ((ヘブライ語:מבצע זעם האל) ''Mivtza Za'am Ha'el''), also known as Operation "Bayonet",〔(Munich: Operation Bayonet ), ''BBC'', January 16, 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2006.〕 was a covert operation directed by the Mossad to assassinate individuals suspected of being involved in the 1972 Munich massacre in which 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team were killed. The targets were members of the Palestinian armed militant group Black September and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) operatives. Authorized by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the autumn of 1972, the operation is believed to have continued for over twenty years. The operation was depicted in the television film ''Sword of Gideon'' (1986) and Steven Spielberg's film ''Munich'' (2005). == History == Two days after the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Israel retaliated by bombing ten PLO bases in Syria and Lebanon. Prime Minister Golda Meir created Committee X, a small group of government officials tasked with formulating an Israeli response, with herself and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan at the head. She also appointed General Aharon Yariv as her Advisor on Counterterrorism; he, along with Mossad Director Zvi Zamir, took the principal role in directing the ensuing operation. The committee came to the conclusion that, to deter future violent incidents against Israel, they needed to assassinate those who had supported or carried out the Munich massacre, and in dramatic fashion. Pressured by Israeli public opinion and top intelligence officials, Meir reluctantly authorized the beginning of the broad assassination campaign.〔Reeve, 152–4.〕 Yet when the three surviving perpetrators of the massacre were released just months later by West Germany in compliance with the demands of the hijackers of a Lufthansa aircraft, any remaining ambivalence she felt was removed.〔Reeve, 158.〕 The committee's first task for Israeli intelligence was to draw up an assassination list of all those involved in Munich. This was accomplished with the aid of PLO operatives working for Mossad, and with information provided by friendly European intelligence agencies.〔Morris, 381.〕 While the contents of the entire list are unknown, reports put the final number of targets at 20–35, a mix of Black September and PLO elements.〔Reeve states that intelligence sources put the number at 20 (Reeve, 162), while Ostrovsky puts it at 35 (Ostrovsky, 179).〕 Once this was complete, Mossad was charged with locating the individuals and assassinating them. Critical in the planning was the idea of plausible deniability, that it should be impossible to prove a direct connection between the assassinations and Israel.〔(Countering Terrorism: The Israeli Response To The 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre And The Development Of Independence Covert Action Teams ), M.A. thesis by Alexander B. Calahan at Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 1995.〕 In addition, the operations were more generally intended to terrorize Palestinian militants. According to David Kimche, former deputy head of Mossad, "The aim was not so much revenge but mainly to make them (Palestinian terrorists ) frightened. We wanted to make them look over their shoulders and feel that we are upon them. And therefore we tried not to do things by just shooting a guy in the street – that’s easy ... fairly."〔(Quoted by Britain's Channel 4 ). Channel4.com. Retrieved on May 8, 2012.〕 It is also known that Mossad agent Michael Harari led the creation and direction of the teams,〔Reeve, 161.〕 although some may not have always been under government responsibility. Author Simon Reeve explains that the Mossad teamwhose squad names are letters of the Hebrew alphabetconsisted of:
This is similar to former Mossad ''katsa'' Victor Ostrovsky's description of Mossad's own assassination teams, the Kidon. In fact, Ostrovsky says in his book that it was Kidon units that performed the assassinations.〔Ostrovsky, 179.〕 This is supported by author Gordon Thomas who was given access to the debriefing reports submitted by the eight Kidon and 80 member backup team that were involved in the assassinations.〔 Another report by author Aaron J. Klein says that these teams were actually part of a unit called Caesarea, which would be renamed and reorganized into Kidon in the mid-1970s.〔Klein, 107 & 203.〕 Harari eventually commanded three Caesarea teams of around 12 members each. They were each further divided into logistics, surveillance, and assassination squads.〔Klein, 133〕 One of the covert teams was revealed in the aftermath of the Lillehammer affair (see Ali Hassan Salameh section below), when six members of the Mossad assassination team were arrested by Norwegian authorities. Harari escaped to Israel, and it is possible that others were able to evade capture with him. An article in ''Time'' magazine immediately after the killing put the total number of Mossad personnel at 15,〔"(Fatal Error )", ''Time'', August 6, 1973. Retrieved June 23, 2006.〕 which would also be similar to the above descriptions. A markedly different account comes from the book ''Vengeance'', where the author states that according to his source, Mossad set up a five-man unit of trained intelligence personnel which he (source ) led in Europe. The book also says that the team operated outside of direct government control, and that its only communications were with Harari.〔 Several hours before each assassination, each target's family received flowers with a condolence card reading: "A reminder we do not forget or forgive."〔(We know where you live ) Sydney Morning Herald January 14, 2006〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Wrath of God」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|