Military

The Training of Terrorist Organizations
CSC 1995
SUBJECT AREA Training
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
TITLE: The Training of Terrorist Organizations 
AUTHOR: Major David E. Smith USMC 
RESEARCH QUESTION: Is there a worldwide terrorist training apparatus? 
DISCUSSION: 
	During the l96O's the Soviet Union and its communist satellites 
deliberately provided training to terrorist organizations in order to further 
their political and diplomatic aims and to destabilize the West. They were 
instrumental in nurturing the skills employed by terrorists during the 
l96O's, 7O's, and 8O's. By the time the USSR collapsed and the Warsaw 
Pact disintegrated, communist supported training was no longer vital to 
sustain terrorism. Other groups, employing a variety of training 
techniques, were able to take their place. 
	Nations such as Iran and Syria trained and supported terrorists to 
influence world events and further their political agendas, while retaining 
a cloak of deniability for their leaders. Many nationalist, religious, and 
ethnic groups have also developed self sustaining terrorist organizations 
such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army with their own independent 
training programs. 
CONCLUSION: There is no present evidence of a worldwide terrorist 
training apparatus. The world has fragmented into numerous competing 
camps and terrorist training is conducted along regional, ethnic, and 
religious lines. There are many similarities in the training programs of 
successful terrorist organizations, and the trends are towards less restraint 
and more violent operations. 
INTRODUCTION 
Terrorism has been a worldwide phenomenon for hundreds of 
years. Significant collusion among groups was not evident until the 
l96O's when the Soviet Union embarked upon a coordinated effort to 
bolster movements it believed would further its political objectives. 
The training it provided itself, and through its surrogates, was the 
genesis of knowledge that would ultimately spread to the majority of 
the world's terrorist organizations. By the time the Soviet Union 
collapsed, it was no longer a vital component in the terrorist training 
arena. Other groups, employing a variety of techniques and methods, 
had taken its place. Those groups generated personnel with, or 
without, a wide range of skills. This paper will recount historical 
trends concerning terrorist training methods in order to determine 
what current patterns, if any, exist. It will end with conclusions, as 
well as with predictions of future trends in the area. 
Prior to discussing historical patterns of terrorist training it is 
essential to make sure the reader has a basic understanding of who a 
terrorist is and how the typical terrorist group is organized. There 
are innumerable definitions of terrorism. For the purpose of this 
paper we will employ the definition used in Title 22 of the United 
States Code, Section 2656 f (d) "premeditated politically motivated 
violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational
groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an 
audience." Acts of terrorism are committed throughout the world by 
a myriad of groups. All successful (enduring) groups exhibit some 
organizational similarities that have contributed to their longevity. 
TERRORIST NETWORK ORGAMZATION 
Terrorist networks are organized for operational effectiveness as 
well as for group security. Terrorist groups are directed by a 
"headquarters". The headquarters may be the leaders within the 
organization or a third party representing a state sponsor. There 
may also be regional directorates that are subordinate to the 
headquarters. Action teams, or tactical cells, are groups that 
perpetrate an assault or other similar actions. They are the men and 
women who detonate the bombs, conduct assassinations, and actually 
carry out kidnappings and hijackings. Ideally, they do not know who 
directs or controls them. Terrorist networks also include support 
teams that serve various purposes. Support teams may be active or 
passive. Active supporters may conduct fund raising drives for the 
group, provide safe locations for members attempting to elude the 
authorities, or treat wounded or injured members. Although they do 
not conduct actual missions, they directly interact with, and support 
the movement. Passive supporters do not become openly involved in 
the criminal activities of the organization. On the other hand, they 
may contribute money to the cause or provide the group with 
information of tactical value. Support teams generally operate at all 
times, while tactical cells may be activated just prior to planned 
operations. Support teams normally do not know the identity or 
existence of other teams in the movement. Compartmentalization 
into "cell" structures is crucial to the survival of the group. It has 
become vital as counter terrorist efforts have intensified in scope 
and effectiveness.1 
The three major categories of terrorist groups are non state- 
supported, state-supported, and state-directed. Non state-supported 
groups are generally small special interest bands such as radical 
environmentalists. They tend to be less trained, and less violent, 
than groups that have outside assistance. An exception is Sendero 
Luminoso, an extremely violent Peruvian terrorist organization, 
which may purposely avoid outside support in order to retain 
freedom of action. 
State-supported groups obtain training, financial assistance, and 
logistical support from sovereign governments. The sponsors 
generally want to avoid being linked to their surrogate and may 
conduct training away from their own territory. Financial aid and 
equipment are funneled surreptitiously to the terrorist organizations, 
which on occasion may act for chiefly mercenary reasons. Iranian
employment of the Syrian sponsored Popular Front for the Liberation 
of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), led by Ahmed Jibril, to 
destroy Pan Am Flight lO3 over Lockerbie, Scotland is an example of 
state sponsored terrorism. The PFLP-GC attack was allegedly 
coordinated in Damascus through contacts established by Sayeed Ali 
Akbar Mohtashami, former Iranian ambassador to Syria, and a 
graduate of the Soviet terrorist training facility at Simferopol. 
Jabril's group reportedly received $l.3 million for the mission.2 
State-directed terrorist groups are organized, supplied, and 
controlled by a nation. An example of state-directed terrorism is the 
North Korean employment of assassins to murder a number of South 
Korean officials visiting Rangoon in l983.3 The destruction of Korean 
Air Flight 858 in l987 is another example of North Korean state- 
directed terrorism. One of its perpetrators, Miss Kim Hyon Hui, was 
apprehended after the attack and has provided a detailed description 
of her training for the operation that was well chronicled by Eileen 
MacDonald in Shoot the Women First. 
Miss Hui was born in Pyongyang during l962 into the relatively 
privileged family of a diplomat. Like all North Korean citizens, she 
was indoctrinated to revere her leaders, observe and believe the 
party line, and to hate its enemies. Her conditioning began when she 
was two months old and spent portions of each day at state
nurseries. 
Miss Hui was a superior student in Japanese at Kim II Sung 
University. During her second year at that institution she was 
directed to meet with officers from the North Korean Research 
Department (secret service). After a battery of language, memory, 
and political reliability tests she was selected for agent training. Her 
initial training was conducted at Kimsong Political Military College in 
complete isolation from her family and friends, as well as from other 
students. Daily instruction was undertaken in small arms, languages, 
codes, and communications. Political indoctrination was interwoven 
with all courses. Her physical training was intense. Miss Hui claims 
that when it was concluded she could "swim two kilometers and run 
4O kilometers over rough ground at night."4 
After a year at the university she was moved north to the vicinity 
of the Chinese border where she received advanced instruction in 
kidnapping, assassination, marksmanship, bombing, and agitation. 
The research department planned to employ her as an agent in 
Japan. She spent six years studying the language and customs of that 
nation with Li Eun Hye, who had been kidnapped from a Japanese 
beach by North Korean agents. (There have been several reported 
incidents of Japanese citizens being kidnapped from Japan by North 
Korean Security Forces).5 The purpose of the training was to allow
her to pass as a Japanese citizen. She also received specialized 
training in professional espionage, automobile operation, 
photography, and clandestine communications. Her ability to 
function under cover as a Japanese citizen was tested during a trip to 
Europe in l984 during which she posed as the daughter of the 
elderly agent who accompanied her. After returning she studied 
Chinese in Canton, China and Macao. 
Miss Hui was provided with a month of specialized explosives 
training during l987, after she had been chosen for the KAL 858 
mission. She was paired once more with the elderly male agent that 
she had traveled to Europe with, and viewed the assignment as a 
combat mission behind enemy lines. The couple received explosives 
and a detonator disguised as a radio and a bottle of whisky from a 
North Korean diplomat while on a layover in Belgrade. Miss Hui 
stated that she and her companion would have stayed on the plane 
and exploded with it if that had been required for the 
accomplishment of the mission. After the couple was apprehended 
and brought in for questioning her partner committed suicide and 
she attempted to kill herself with a cyanide laced cigarette. Her 
combination of years of training and unswerving loyalty to her cause 
made her an extremely effective terrorist (or agent) for her nation. 
The duration, intensity, and effectiveness of her training clearly 
underscores the point that state-directed terrorists are normally 
more technically prepared and better equipped than state-supported 
or non state-supported terrorists.6 
It is interesting to compare the training Miss Kim received, with 
"terrorist theory" advanced by Carlos Marighella in his book the 
Liberation of Brazil.7 The book contains a chapter entitled 
"Handbook of Urban Guerrilla Warfare" that was widely translated 
and employed by Latin American and European terrorists. 
Marighella encouraged physical training and manual skills, as well as 
the mastery of small arms and explosives. He emphasized the 
primacy of the political goal. Additionally, he stated that only a 
guerrilla who had passed initial tests should be selected for 
additional training or tasking. 
Miss Hui's North Korean handlers also believed in physical 
conditioning and ensured that she was competent with small arms 
and explosives. She was tested in Europe prior to being assigned to 
destroy KAL 858, an action designed to further the DPRK's political 
goal of subverting the Seoul Olympics. The similarities are 
remarkable and demonstrate the validity of the time tested methods 
described by Marighella and employed by the North Korean Research 
Department. 
TERRORIST TRAINING OBJECTIVES 
Terrorists require training in a wide variety of subjects in order 
to operate effectively and achieve their objectives. Since the 
majority of terrorist incidents involve bombs, explosives training is 
paramount. Substantial instruction is required to construct anything 
more complicated than the most fundamental explosive weapon. Use 
of components such as mercury tilt fuses (common to car bombs), 
remotely controlled, and electromagnetic firing devices must be 
taught by experts to students already well versed in, and confident 
working with, explosives. Additionally, the complexity of the latest 
types of vehicle bombs is extraordinary. The bomb employed 
against the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon consisted of l2,OOO to 
l8,OOO pounds of explosives arrayed in a gas enhanced configuration. 
It is widely believed to have been assembled in either Iran or Syria 
by professional explosives experts for employment in Lebanon. The 
United States government estimated it to have been the largest non 
nuclear explosion in history.8 
Firearms training is also important and is more easily obtained 
than explosives training. Students need range time and instruction 
in weapons maintenance in order to become proficient with small 
arms. This instruction is often combined with small unit tactics and 
techniques of guerrilla warfare in what is essentially paramilitary
training. Terrorists also require proficiency in covert 
communications, document falsification, and methods of surveillance. 
Martial arts, employment of disguise, and procedures for jamming 
communications are desired talents. Some terrorists also seek 
expertise in evaluating security systems, as well as in assessing the 
vulnerability of various targets. These capabilities are essential for 
successful mission planning. Languages are also a valuable skill, and 
media manipulation is additional recurring theme of terrorist 
training.9 
In addition to general skills that are germane to virtually all 
terrorist movements, groups pursue skills in areas directly applicable 
to their anticipated operations. Organizations intending to kidnap or 
assassinate people while they are in motor vehicles may study 
defensive driving and evasion methods to reduce the likelihood of 
their victim's escape. Similarly, organizations contemplating aircraft 
hijacking will attempt to learn the techniques that hostage rescue 
teams might employ in order to thwart them.10 Aircraft hijackers 
also require a team member who can speak and understand English, 
which is in use in international aviation operations.11 It also helps 
with the media. 
It is important to remember that although terrorists seek training 
in a wide variety of skills, their rank and file members are normally 
not particularly skilled. Moreover, they do not need to be as finely 
trained as law enforcement or military forces do. Terrorists rely on 
the advantages of surprise and shock when they conduct operations. 
They prey on the unprepared and avoid undertaking missions that 
expose them to substantial risks. More importantly, terrorists are 
rarely concerned with minimizing collateral damage and avoiding 
injury to noncombatants. In fact, brutality and violence further their 
ends, and "surgical operations" can actually limit their effectiveness. 
The average member of a terrorist organization is not well versed in 
unconventional engagements. Each group has a core of specialists 
who manufacture bombs, conduct sniping operations, and develop 
operational plans. Elimination of these key members can, virtually 
cripple smaller terrorist organizations, and can hamper the activities 
of larger groups. 
Despite their training and varied levels of expertise it is not 
uncommon for terrorists to be the victims of their own devices. 
During l97O three members of the Weather Underground perished 
in an explosion in their Greenwich Village headquarters while 
manufacturing bombs. The Provisional IRA has also suffered from 
what the British authorities call "scoring own goals", or blowing 
themselves up. The PIRA' s leadership was so concerned about 
accidents by less experienced members assigned to plant bombs that 
they directed their bomb assemblers to place safety devices on the 
weapons they manufactured. The devices were simple pins that had 
to be pulled in order to arm the bomb. This created a new problem, 
because nervous members often forget to pull the pins, therefore 
placing unarmed bombs in target locations. Safety devices were later 
equipped with tags which were returned by the bomb planter to his 
or her superior to demonstrate mission accomplishment after the 
weapon had been armed and placed in the desired location.12 
COMMUNIST MACHINATED TERRORIST TRAINING 
Although terrorism originated centuries ago, modern international 
terrorism orchestrated by the Soviet Union arguably began at the 
Tricontinental Conference conceived by Moscow and conducted in 
Havana, Cuba during January l966.13 The purpose of the conference 
was to devise a "global revolutionary strategy to counter the global 
strategy of American imperialism."14 It resulted in the creation of an 
African, Asian, and Latin American Solidarity Organization based in 
Havana. The Conference also passed resolutions advocating outside 
aid for groups fighting for "liberation". During late l966, the Cubans 
opened a number of training camps for guerrilla fighters in Cuba that 
were under Soviet supervision. Palestinian groups began sending 
students to these facilities on the "Isle of Pines" during l966, and 
upon graduation, those students spawned the terrorist groups that 
exploded in the Middle East during the l97O's. 
Castro's terrorism schools were under the supervision of the 
Direcion General de Intelegencia (DGI). Students were flown into the 
country from connecting airports, or arrived in Cuban harbors by 
boat. Upon debarkation in Havana, they were segregated by 
nationality and moved to their individual training locations. The 
guerrilla courses lasted from three to six months. Subject material 
included "tactics, weapons training, bomb making- particularly how 
to blow up oil pipelines, map reading, cryptography, photography, 
falsification of documents, and disguise." Illich Ramirez Sanchez, 
a.k.a. Carlos the Jackal, is reputed to have received instruction at 
Camp Mantonzas, Cuba, prior to further education in the USSR.15 
In addition to operating a series of such camps in Cuba, Castro 
exported instructors to newly opened sites in Angola and 
Mozambique. Cuban instructors arrived at locations in the Middle 
East after the October l973 War. During December of that year, 4O 
Cuban terrorist instructors arrived in South Yemen. South Yemeni 
desert training sites were protected by the Soviet and East German 
secret police, and became the focal point for instructing and 
sheltering terrorists from nations including Germany, Ireland, Japan, 
Turkey, Iran, Italy, France, Belgium, and Palestine.16 
When the Lebanese Civil War broke out it created an opportunity 
for terrorist groups to operate from that country. In l978 the 
Palestine Rejection Front was firmly established at a number of sites 
there. In March, l978 the first team of Cuban instructors arrived at 
Tyre, Lebanon. They presented a detailed eight month course of 
instruction to their first class of perspective Arab terrorists. The 
curriculum included street and desert fighting, attacking people and 
buildings, demolitions, and sabotaging oil installations. Graduates of 
the school were supplied with false passports and work permits, and 
sent to various Persian Gulf countries that they were familiarized 
with during training.17 
Castro's support of terrorism was indicated by his Tucuman Plan, 
designed to export South American revolutionaries to Western 
Europe. He intended to dispatch members of the Junta for 
Revolutionary Coordination (JRC) from Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, 
and Chile to Lisbon, Portugal and Paris, France. These groups were 
designed to act in concert against the continent. Castro established a 
special training site for these operations on a 4,OOO acre estate at 
Guanabo and provided them with a three month course concentrating 
on explosives, sabotage, weapons instruction, and urban operations. 
The plan was foiled by European security services during l978 
before numerous operations could be conducted. Nevertheless, it 
underscores the global scope Castro envisioned for Cuban trained 
terrorists.18 
The Soviet Union also provided training for certain terrorist 
groups on its homeland, as well as spearheaded training in the 
territory of its Warsaw Pact allies. The Soviets sponsored terrorism 
as part of an overall strategy designed to destabilize Western 
Europe/NATO by supporting international and Western revolutionary 
movements whose insurrectional activities would have helped 
expand the communist block and further Soviet aims. In fact, a 
former senior officer of Soviet Military Intelligence stated that 
"ideological sympathy with the Soviet Union is unnecessary: anyone 
who helps destabilize the west is our friend."19 
A typical member of the Palestine Liberation Army (PLO) selected 
for training behind the Iron Curtain received an orientation brief on 
expected conduct while undergoing instruction, as well as ideological 
orientation prior to departing for Moscow. Upon arrival he was 
greeted by the PLO representative there and arrangements were 
made for further travel to the individual's ultimate training 
destination.20 
A typical training day began with early morning physical fitness 
or gymnastics exercises. As the morning progressed students 
generally conducted a parade. There were several hours of daily 
political orientation covering subjects as wide ranging as "Russian 
Mortality Rates during World Wars I and II" to "Russian Ties to the 
third World". The meat of daily instruction was education in 
incendiary charges and detonators; exploding metals; the art of 
mining munitions dumps, bridges, vehicles and personnel; the 
rudiments of chemical and biological warfare; command field and 
escape tactics; marksmanship and camouflage; the use and 
employment of Soviet RPG rockets and shoulder borne Strela 
missiles. Interestingly enough, the Soviets also employed Moslem 
KGB officers to mix among the trainees and seek recruits for the KGB. 
21
By l977 there were terrorist classes within the USSR near Baku 
on the Caspian Sea 22, and near Simferopol on the Black Sea (See Map 
One). There were training sites near Plauen, Karl-Marx-Stadt, 
Dresden (See Map Two), Babelsberg, Klein Machsrow (See Map 
Three), Schmirblitz, and the North Schwein Region of East Germany. 
There were four additional sites in Bulgaria, the largest of which was 
at Varna (See Map Four). There were also four more sites in 
Czechoslovakia and three in Poland.23 It is clear that by the late 
l97O's there was a substantial international terrorist network 
supporting movements from North and South America, Europe, Asia, 
and Africa. 
The relationships between students and their instructors varied 
immensely. For example, at one point the Soviets asked for higher 
quality students from the Popular Front for the Liberation of 
Palestine (PFLP). The PFLP students, for their part complained that 
their Soviet hosts gave them too many political lectures and not 
enough training in field operations. 
A second example is in this account of the opinion the Zimbabwe 
African National Union (ZANU) had of their North Korean instructors. 
"Brigadier Parence Shin, the commander of the 5th Brigade, 
expressed his disappointment with Democratic People's Republic of 
Korea (DPRK) advisors, indicating that, while they were respected for 
their individual toughness, they were more notable for their 
extravagant living and lack of personal discipline, than for their 
ability to conduct realistic military training."24 
The Soviet Union began decreasing its support of terrorism as the 
l98O's progressed. By mid l987 Moscow had used its influence to 
push members of the African National Congress and Palestine 
Liberation Army to seek political, vice military, settlements. By 
l987 there was a decline in terrorist action by most of the groups 
purported to be supported by the USSR.25 By l989 the Kremlin had 
toned down its rhetoric about United States and Israeli terrorist 
surrogates. Foreign Minister Shevardnadze's comments to the United 
Nations General Assembly clearly conveyed this new Soviet position: 
"Violence on national, ethnic, or religious grounds must no longer 
be tolerated... .no support or sympathy should be extended to the so 
called movements that allow actions humiliating other nations, or use 
terrorist, barbaric or inhuman methods in waging their struggle."26 
On the other hand, Czechoslovakia continued to sell tons of 
SEMTEX (a potent plastic explosive) to East Germany and Hungary 
until l989. They also sold prodigious amounts of the substance to 
Libya. President Havel of Czechoslovakia stated in l99O that "the 
past regime exported 1,000 tons to Libya, and yet it takes only 200 
grams to blow up a plane. This means that world terrorism has 
enough supplies of SEMTEX for at least l5O years."27 It is logical to 
assume that the Libyans supplied movements such as the Provisional 
Irish Republican Army with the explosive. Whether or not the 
supply will last l5O years is debatable, but it is certain that one 
sponsor of international terrorism has amassed a large stockpile of 
plastic explosive for future operations. 
PALESTINIAN/LIBYAN TRAINING 
The demise of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Warsaw 
Pact retarded the support of some terrorist organizations, but did 
little to eliminate terrorism from the world. The loose net of 
international terrorists that was spawned during the l96O's and 
l97O's had already been replaced by groups of cooperating Islamic 
Fundamentalists, regional alliances, and a small number of 
independent movements. Additionally, local collusion between 
criminal organizations and terrorist groups began to occur more 
frequently. 
Palestinian organizations such as the Palestine Liberation 
Organization and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine 
established their own training facilities and programs based largely 
on the training they had received behind the Iron Curtain. As the 
various factions in the Palestinian movement split, groups initiated 
additional recruitment as well as training programs for their new 
members. 
Hussein Jorde Abdallah (his code name) described his training 
conducted by the Abu Nidal Group. It is interesting to compare his 
account of the instruction he received from Nidal's organization with 
that provided to Palestinian students in the Soviet Union. After 
signing on with the faction he was required to write his biography in 
painstaking detail. In l987 he was flown to Libya with other 
recruits and assigned to a desert camp. The students were building 
permanent facilities while he underwent training and he was billeted 
in a tent. The daily routine was strenuous. Recruits were awakened 
at dawn, required to jog for an hour prior to breakfast, and then 
spent a five and one half hour shift on construction duty in the camp. 
The recruits were given a light lunch and a mid day rest period 
before beginning their three hour afternoon work shift. In the 
evening they were required to attend political lectures and films. 
Discipline was strict. Students were docked meals if they were late 
and harangued if they took unauthorized breaks. The camp had a 
prison and interrogation block that was used to provide severe 
punishment for serious infractions of the rules. There was an 
atmosphere of suspicion, and the organization was paranoid about 
penetration by a hostile intelligence service. Abdallah reported 
being required to periodically rewrite his biography so it could be 
checked for suspicious discrepancies. 
Residents of the training facility were not allowed to possess 
radios and were unable to receive newspapers. The information they 
obtained from the outside world was closely controlled. Incoming 
mail was usually kept in individual personnel files and was not 
delivered to addressees. Personal identification was surrendered 
upon arrival at the camp. 
Abdallah received specialized training in a separate part of the 
compound that was used for students assigned to the "Intelligence 
Directorate's Special Missions Committee." While there, he was 
segregated from the other trainees and his instruction was tailored to 
the requirements of special missions. He learned how to assume a 
false identity, how to avoid attracting attention, how to conduct site 
reconnaissance, surveillance techniques, counter surveillance 
techniques, writing with invisible ink, and the encryption of 
messages while assigned there. He received detailed training in the 
maintenance and operation of pistols and light machine guns. In 
addition, Abdallah learned map reading skills in order to allow him 
to retrieve weapons cached in foreign countries.28 
Libyan support for terrorism cropped up during the l97O's. 
During l976 there was reliable reporting of a series of Libyan camps 
under the protection of Colonel Qaddaffi. By l98O there were 
approximately l5O Cuban instructors in Libya. Soviet and East 
German instructors abounded as well. In addition to providing 
facilities and supporting instructors, Qaddaffi spent prodigious 
amounts of his nation's oil revenues to financially aid movements he 
was sympathetic to. He supported Soviet instructors training 
Egyptians at al-Beida (See Map Five). Sudanese and Chadian 
students had Soviet and Cuban instructors and were based at Maaten 
Biskara. Tunisian students were instructed by Syrians and 
Palestinians and were located at Bab Aziza. Qaddaffi did not 
discriminate when it came to offering sanctuary for terrorist groups. 
Europeans, primarily Irish, German, Basque, Breton s, Corsican s, 
Italians, Greeks and Turks were centered around camps at Sirte, 
Sebka, and Az Zaouiah. Cubans and East Germans also ran an 
advance site at Tokra for graduate work in sabotage. Qaddaffi' s 
apparatus was coordinated from Tripoli by the Libyan Secret Service. 
Upon graduation, students were issued false papers, pocket money, 
and weapons. They were also well cared for in Libya if they became 
fugitives from the authorities.29 
SYRIAN INVOLVEMENT IN TERRORIST TRAINING 
Syria also continues to sponsor and support terrorism in the 
Middle East. President Assad employs it to demonstrate his ability to 
strike at enemies and influence events in the Middle East and 
Europe. He is cautious to only sanction operations that further his 
ends, and has kept a tight rein on the groups he employs towards 
those objectives. Assad does not allow terrorist strikes into areas 
that would generate conflicts with antagonists he is not willing to 
battle conventionally. 
Syria has been involved in direct acts of terrorism such as the 
September l982 murder of Lebanese President Bashir Jumayyil in 
Beirut, and Jordanian diplomat Ziyad Sati in Ankara during July 
l985.30 Assad's nation maintains a significant intelligence apparatus 
in Western Europe and Lebanon that aids it in directing the groups it 
supports. 
Syria supports numerous groups with sanctuary, training, and 
equipment. The Abu Nidal Organization, the Popular Front for the 
Liberation of Palestine-General Command, Al Sa'iqa, the Kurdish 
Revolutionary Workers Party (PKK), and Hamas are all its 
beneficiaries. Additionally, Syria is linked to Hizballah. It has 
provided these groups, and others, with military and technical 
training. It also provides official documents such as passports and 
the use of diplomatic pouches to transport weapons and explosives 
into foreign countries.31 Its influence and ability to affect groups 
operating in areas it controls, such as Hizballah, is significant. Syria 
can simply shut down the supply routes for groups based in Lebanon 
in order to control their activities for a certain period of time. 
Syria has attempted to distance itself from many terrorist groups 
during the l99O's and has made a series of moves designed to 
demonstrate its "change of heart" to the world. Carlos was expelled 
during September l99l, and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) base 
at Helivah in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon was closed during l992.32 
Unquestionably though, Damascus International Airport is still used 
for the transshipment of arms from Iran to Lebanon. Damascus also 
serves as a focal point for many Middle Eastern terrorist groups. 
Syria was instrumental in development of the PKK, a powerful 
group that deserves close attention. Assad used the group to 
pressure the government of Turkey and to strike at American 
military targets in that country. Despite closing the camp at Helivah, 
Syria continues to provide that group with substantial support. The 
original PKK recruits were drawn from expatriate Kurdish 
communities in Europe and Syria. Many recruits are women and 
more and more are coming from Eastern Turkey. The PKK's main 
training camp, the Mashsum Korkmay Academy in the Bekaa Valley, 
was reportedly training 3OO-4OO recruits every three months. The 
organization's leadership has spread the group among Syria, 
Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and Turkey, presumably to increase its 
survivability if one sponsor turns against it.33 The group has 
employed guerrilla tactics and has conducted battalion sized 
operations against targets in Turkey, prompting a Turkish retaliatory 
strike against the PKK in northern Iraq. 
The PKK is also allegedly trained by the Greek government. 
Camps at Lavion and the Greek part of Cyprus are employed for 
political indoctrination and explosives training. Captured PKK 
members revealed that they had been trained in the production of 
explosives by a Syrian instructor at a site 2OO kilometers east of 
Athens. The same individuals stated that they had been transported 
across the border into Turkey and had witnessed PKK recruits 
moving from Istanbul into training camps in the vicinity of Athens.34 
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST TERRORIST TRAINING 
Islamic Fundamentalists are now cooperating effectively in their 
aim of establishing an Islamic Republic combining church and state 
throughout the Middle Eastern Moslem world. They do not accept 
the Western point of view that international borders are sacrosanct. 
Ahmed Tahir captured this point in his book Holy Terror: 
"Islamic terrorism has played a constant key role in revivalist 
movements in the Muslim world during the past l5O years. And, 
despite vehement protests from Western Moslem intellectuals, the 
idea of murdering, maiming, and menacing the enemy for the 
purpose of hastening the final triumph of Islam has always held a 
very strong appeal among the Muslim masses." 
Iran became the first example of a radical Islamic state when 
Ayatollah Khomeini assumed power there during l979. The Iranian 
government had played a major role in promoting the 
fundamentalist movement. It should be noted, though, that Iran is 
not the sole force in the Shia Muslim terrorist movement. Muslim 
terrorists are a diverse group that employ different tactics and 
operate with varied intensity. "In Beirut alone, the Shia groups 
differ from neighborhood to neighborhood and are often in 
disagreement with one another."35 
In l979 Iranian students seized the American embassy in 
Teheran. The Iranian Revolutionary Government did not return the 
captives and embassy property to the United States as stipulated by 
international law. Instead, government forces were employed to 
maintain their captivity and exploit the seized facility.36 This was 
the first example of Iranian state directed terrorism. The pattern of 
Iranian direct involvement has continued to date. In November 
l992, French officials arrested two Iranian nationals for the murder 
of Kazein Rajavi, an Iranian dissident in exile, in Switzerland during 
l99O. Additionally, Iranian intelligence has been linked to the 
assassination of former Iranian Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar and 
an assistant near Paris during l99l. Three men are being held by 
France in connection with the murders. Among them are a nephew 
of President Rafsanjani who was employed by the Iranian Embassy, 
and a nephew of the late Ayatollah Khomeini. Many other Iranian 
dissidents have been murdered by professional assassins throughout 
Europe. Their effectiveness indicates a high level of training 
presumably attained in Iran.37 The Iranian government has also 
called for the death of Salmon Rushdie, author of SatanicVerses 
demonstrating an intention to continue to employ state directed 
terrorism to enforce the regime's positions. 
In addition to employing its own intelligence agents in a terror 
role, Iran has sponsored Hizballah, the Party of God. Hizballah 
operates out of the Shia villages in Southern Lebanon, and in the 
Bekaa Valley of that nation. The group has a global network of 
supporters in India, Indonesia, South America and Australia.3 8 
Hizballah employs camps in the Syrian controlled Bekaa Valley to 
train its recruits. They are instructed by veteran terrorists from the 
movement as well as by Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The principal 
training camp is located at Janba, while another major facility is 
located at Wadi Mnaira. Recruits are provided with courses in close 
quarter combat, hit and run tactics, infiltration, and mine laying. 
They are also taught to handle automatic weapons, explosives, rocket 
launchers, recoilless rifles, "Sagger" antitank missiles and SA-7 
surface-to-air missiles. In addition, the recruits are provided with 
substantial religious indoctrination. Hizballah also trains in small 
unit tactics, and is employing l5 to 3O man units in operations 
against Israeli forces in Southern Lebanon. Local commanders 
usually recruit young men who are familiar with the terrain in their 
area of operations. 
The Islamic Jihad (Hizballah' s military wing) may work directly 
for the Iranian government in some cases. "Senior Palestinian police 
sources have revealed that they have found faxes that encouraged 
stepped up attacks on Israeli targets while detaining Islamic Jihad 
activists during September l994."39 Other reports indicate that 
Hizballah forces have obtained a new surface-to-air missile (possibly 
the Stinger) from Afghanistan via Iran.40 If so, it would be logical to 
assume its members had been trained in its operation given their 
historical link with Iranian instructors. 
The Afghan link with terrorist training has been clearly 
established in a number of instances. By l982 foreign Muslims were 
participants in combat against the Soviets in Afghanistan.41 "At the 
height of the foreign involvement in the conflict (l989- 
l99l), conservative estimates suggest that, at any given time, 3,OOO 
to 4,OOO foreign fighters were training or fighting in Afghanistan, or 
resting in Peshawar. Over the years, well over ten times that 
number spent time on the Afghan battlefield."42 Many of the 
participants were from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and the Occupied 
Territories. Many were connected with the Muslim Brotherhood. 
Later, many North Africans fought there along with Muslims from 
the Indian Subcontinent. A camp at Jawar, Pakistan evolved into a 
base for foreigners desiring to serve in the struggle in Afghanistan. 
Recruits received extremely rudimentary training prior to moving 
across the border. Their real education was obtained in on the job 
training during combat. Foreign units were often employed 
independently for platoon and company sized operations. Many 
Middle Eastern Arabs developed credible tactical skills through 
practical application while serving in Afghanistan. 
By l99l Mujaheddin loyal to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar were training 
and advising insurgents in Kashmir and along the Bangladesh-Burma 
border.43 It is estimated that there are currently fewer than 1,000
trainees in Afghanistan. Although numbers have decreased, the 
quality of the training they receive may be improving. Reports 
indicate that there are four major camps in Afghanistan that provide 
terrorist training to foreigners. Students are instructed in the use of 
weapons, methods of booby trapping cars, and conducting suicide 
operations. These skills have been employed effectively by 
movements in the Middle East and North Africa. A camp at Shahar 
Siyab is alleged to house 2OO trainees. The largest camp, in Baktia 
Province (See Map Six), conducts day and night courses and 
reportedly has over 5OO students billeted there.44 Ironically, some 
of the weapons employed in the training camps and exported to 
support Islamic movements throughout the world were supplied by 
the American Central Intelligence Agency for use against the Soviet 
invasion force. The defeat of that invasion force has superseded the 
Mujaheddin' s need to maintain cordial relations with the United 
States. That, in conjunction with the sweeping tide of Islamic 
fundamentalism, could conceivably result in weapons we envisioned 
being employed against the USSR being turned against us in the 
future. 
There is every indication that Afghanistan will continue to 
provide sanctuary, training facilities, instructors, and weapons to 
radical Muslims. In fact, Ibrahim el-Mekkawi, a former Egyptian 
Army Colonel who fled from Egypt after the assassination of Anwar 
Sadat in October l98l, travels between Peshawar, Pakistan and 
Afghanistan where he operates camps and bases. El-Mekkawi is said 
to be operating the Islamic campaign in Egypt from Pakistan. 
Additionally Khalid al-Islambouli, who was sentenced to death in 
absentia for planning to kill Hosni Mubarak and other Egyptian 
leaders, maintains a base near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan (See 
Map Six).45 
Islamic fundamentalists also find sanctuary and training 
opportunities in Sudan. The Sudanese government has close ties to 
Iran and has allegedly provided Iranian forces with access to Port 
Sudan on the Red Sea in exchange for weapons and ammunition. 
Reports also indicate that there are two Iranian facilities for terrorist 
training located at Shondi and Wadi Saydna (See Map Seven). These 
camps are employed to train members of Hizballah in guerrilla 
tactics, bomb manufacturing, weapons employment, intelligence, 
purchasing weapons, and clandestinely contacting embassies.46 
The Sudanese government attempts to keep its assistance to 
terrorist organizations secret in order to avoid international 
condemnation. Some training takes place inside mosques. Mosques 
were also employed as training locations for the alleged World Trade 
Center bombers, several of whom are Sudanese.47 Other recruits 
train in Iran: Alsu Aja, former Deputy Speaker of the Sudanese 
Parliament, revealed that groups of Sudanese citizens are sent to 
Iran for six month periods of training. He further stated that all 
Sudanese diplomats were trained in Iran.48 Since Iranian diplomats 
have been implicated in actual terrorist attacks and support 
activities, Sudanese diplomats trained in that country should be 
suspect as well. 
Iranian Revolutionary Guards operate camps in Sudan that are 
financed by Iran. These camps accommodate personnel who have 
been forced out of Lebanon and Libya as those nations tone down 
their support for terrorism.49 Sudan's border with Egypt makes it a 
logical location for supporting the growing Egyptian Islamic 
Fundamentalist movement, and is a source of concern to moderate 
Arab governments, as well as the United States and Israel. Sudan 
has maintained contact with a wide range of terrorist groups 
including Hamas, ITizballah, and the Egyptian Gama'at al Islamiyya.50 
The Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan connection clearly demonstrates the 
international cooperation among radical Islamic governments. 
The cooperation among Islamic fundamentalists may have 
expanded into portions of the former Soviet Union. Reports indicate 
that Iran is providing military training for Muslims of the Islamic 
Renaissance Party (IRP) who oppose the government of Tajikistan. 
Twenty seven Tajik militiamen completed training conducted at the 
Iranian base at Shardi, Sudan. They were provided with a three 
month course of instruction on guerrilla tactics, intelligence 
gathering, infantry weapons, and artillery employment. The top six 
graduates were transferred to Iran for officer training, including 
spiritual guidance, at Qom. While in Qom, attempts may have been 
made to recruit them as agents of the government of Iran. The 
remaining graduates returned to Tajikistan.51 Tajik Muslims have 
continued a fundamentalist pattern of storing weapons in mosques in 
that region.52 
There is also evidence of cooperation between Islamic terrorists 
in the Middle East and the Western Pacific. On 7 February l995, 
Romzi Ahmed Yousef was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan in 
connection with the World Trade Center bombing. Prior to his arrest 
he had reportedly operated in the Philippines with the assistance of 
the Muslim terrorist group Abu Sayaff.53 Abu Sayaff has been 
implicated in a number of bombings and shootings. Military 
intelligence information claims the 3OO member group has received 
training from Pakistani veterans of the Afghan War. It further states 
"Sayaff's lieutenants are composed mainly of Filipino Muslim 
volunteers who joined the International Islamic Brigade which 
fought the Soviets in Afghanistan."54 
SOUTH AMERICAN TERRORIST TRAINING 
The widespread cooperation that is evident among large segments 
of the fundamentalist Islamic movement is not apparent in other
regions of the world. Consider Central and South America. 
Geographical separation hampers teamwork among many in this 
region. There is a further problem of vastly different ideologies of 
the various groups. Even if they are not well coordinated, active 
terrorist movements in South America do exhibit a wide variety of 
training methods. 
Peru is a good example of a South American nation where 
terrorism is thriving. The Shining Path Organization (Sendero 
Luminoso) is among the most ruthless terrorist groups in the world. 
Sendero forces originally operated in the Peruvian countryside. 
Members occupy a village, set up a revolutionary government, and 
organize a popular school in the community. Once established, the 
school is used to increase the literacy of the villagers and 
propagandize. Teachers constantly evaluate the students to identify 
potential recruits. All recruiting is instigated by the movement in 
order to reduce the possibility of organizational penetration. Once 
identified, candidates spend approximately one year receiving 
political indoctrination and conducting propaganda activities such as 
slogan painting on walls. They also take instruction on guerrilla 
strategy. As the candidate progresses, he or she is trained in the use 
of firearms and explosives. Physical training is also emphasized. 
Members who have been fully accepted into the group are assigned 
to a terrorist cell.55 The real education for Sendero active cadre is 
provided by on the job training in military action against 
government forces, organized peasants, or other terrorists such as 
Tupac Amaru collaborators. To date there has been no substantiated 
evidence of external training being provided to Sendero members. 
The movement prefers self sufficiency. 
Colombia is another South American nation facing a substantial 
indigenous terrorist threat. Its l9th of April Movement (M-l9), 
famed for its daring l985 seizure of the Supreme Court Building in 
Bogota, has demonstrated remarkable resiliency. In l99O only three 
of the movement's approximately 27O fighters refused to accept a 
government deal requiring them to lay down their arms. Since then 
the group has swelled to 25O members.56 The training methods of 
M-l9 are not well known, but it is presumed that current members 
receive instruction in Colombia. 
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is a large 
group consisting of 4-5,OOO members. In contrast to the 
independent methods typical of South American terrorist groups, 
FARC leadership has supported the creation of the Simon Bolivar 
Guerrilla Coordinator (SBGC), which is designed to harmonize the 
efforts of disparate Colombian terror groups. If successful, SBGC may 
potentially lead to cooperative training among the terrorist groups of 
Colombia.57 
Central and South American terrorism is often associated with 
right wing political movements. So called "death squads", often 
comprised of military or police personnel, are active in many 
countries. They employ their law enforcement and martial skills in 
the conduct of their operations. Right wing terrorists with 
government connections (state-support) also enjoy virtual immunity 
from prosecution, although they risk retaliation from the enemies 
they attack. Right wing groups are also likely to have access to high 
quality weapons, explosives, and detonators from state arsenals. 
EUROPEAN TERRORISM 
Western European terrorism is largely urban in nature and is 
comprised primarily of Marxist groups and organizations organized 
along ethnic and religious lines. Several hard core European Marxist 
groups cooperated during the l98O's. The Combatant Communist 
Cells (CCC) of Belgium, Direct Action (AD) of France, and the Red 
Army Faction (RAF) of Germany allied to form the Anti Imperialist 
Allied Front. The front followed an anti NATO policy. Additionally, 
the Red Brigades (RB) of Italy also had contact with RAF and AD 
members. These groups, several of which were established by 
members trained by Palestinian terrorists, currently present little 
threat to the continent. Marxism seems to have lost its appeal there. 
Ominously though, Iranian government agents are reputed to have 
made contact with the remnants of some of those organizations 
during l994.58 One can speculate that Iran believes they could be 
useful to her cause in the future. 
The greatest organic terrorist threat to Europe comes from the 
ethnic/religious movements exemplified by the PIRA, ETA, and PKK. 
The ETA and PIRA have established a close working relationship. 
Many members met at various Middle Eastern training camps 
beginning during the l97O's. In l98O, a Basque prisoner indicated 
that at least l5 of his ETA comrades had attended an Irish weapons 
and explosives training course.59 
In Ireland, much of the Provos legendary expertise in bombs has 
been self developed. Daithi O'Connell, of PIRA fame, is the 
acknowledged inventor of the car bomb. Many PIRA volunteers 
learned their bomb manufacturing skills from their civilian 
occupations as electricians, and surprisingly, pin ball machine 
repairmen.60 As time progressed they perfected their skills at 
developing time delay and remotely detonated fuses. The Irish have 
also been innovative in the employment of blast accentuators and in 
booby trapping their bombs. 
Training in how to resist interrogation is another feature of PIRA 
education. When new PIRA inmates arrive in British or Irish prisons, 
they are immediately approached by other incarcerated cadre and 
debriefed on their capture. This information is smuggled out of the 
institution and provided to the command structure for analysis by 
leaders and promulgation to members at large. Other "lessons 
learned" are useful to the PIRA. Members are instructed to take 
possession of weapons as late as possible prior to conducting an 
operation, and to move to a safe house immediately after the 
engagement. This minimizes their exposure while in possession of 
illegal weapons and gets them out of sight quickly. Once at the safe 
house, weapons are transported to a hiding spot and members wash 
and change clothes. Attention to detail is stressed. The terrorists 
even scrub their nails to remove any residue of explosives or 
firearms in order to conceal evidence from forensic scientists of the 
Irish and British authorities.61 Curiously, many particularly effective 
Irish Republican terrorists obtained their skills in such areas as crew 
served weapons, including mortars, during service with the British 
Army.62 
Training for members of PIRA active service units is conducted 
by training officers at safe sites in Ireland. Detailed explosives 
training is provided along with instruction in small arms and 
machine guns. Basic training includes methods of priming and 
detonating bombs, while advanced courses teach more progressive 
classes on subjects such as booby trapping and methods of remote 
controlled explosives. Much of the training seems to be geared at 
increasing the confidence level of members in order to enhance their 
effectiveness at placing and detonating bombs.63 
TERRORIST TRAINING IN EMPLOYING WEAPONS OF MASS 
DESTRUCTION 
Hiring or recruiting experts is an option for terrorist groups in 
lieu of training their own members in difficult or technical subjects 
that require years of rigorous study. This approach can be used by 
organizations interested in obtaining skills in nuclear, biological, and 
chemical weapons. Thousands of engineers graduate from Middle 
Eastern universities every year and many join the ranks of the 
unemployed. They are a great pool of potential disciples for the 
numerous terrorist movements of the region. 
Chemists and biologists possess requisite skills for developing 
rudimentary chemical and biological weapons, both of which 
constitute a great present danger to world security. Palestinian 
groups have already threatened to employ chemical weapons. 
Adnon Abu Jaber, who was arrested by the Israelis after the 2 May 
l98O Hebron raid, admitted to having undergone training in Moscow, 
and claimed this training had included chemical and biological 
warfare courses.64 The PLF and PLFP-GC have menaced Cyprus by 
stating that they might overfly the island and saturate it with aerosol 
poisons. Those organizations are accumulating micro light and glider 
aircraft that could provide them with that capability. "In l987 
Colonel Ayu al Tayyib, the commander of force l7 of the PLO, stated 
that his group had acquired chemical weapons and would use them 
against Israel, if necessary. He claimed that some Palestinians have 
been trained in the use of these weapons in other countries."65 
Libya's chemical capabilities, as well as its support for terrorist 
organizations, are well documented. They may well have provided 
chemical training to surrogate organizations. It is less likely that the 
Libyans would provide their proxies with actual chemical or 
biological weapons. 
CONCLUSIONS 
My first conclusion is that there is no evidence today of a 
worldwide terrorist training apparatus. This is because there is no 
nation, or block of nations, with both the resources and the belief 
that its political goals will be furthered by a coordinated global 
terrorist assault against an opposing camp. The world has fractured 
into a number of competing alliances and factions, each attempting to 
further its own ends. This has resulted in terrorist training 
cooperation along regional, ethnic and religious lines. 
A second conclusion is that the training techniques for the 
majority of terrorist organizations exhibit many similarities. The 
first and most important is that ideology is paramount. Political or 
religious indoctrination is stressed by everyone from Marighella to 
Islamic fundamentalists. Terrorists from most movements must 
demonstrate ability and loyalty by performing simple tasks prior to 
being trained for more difficult assignments. Hence, as we have 
seen, Sendero recruits begin by painting graffiti while PIRA initial 
instruction is designed to build confidence rather than technical 
ability. Additionally, most groups have a small number of trained 
key personnel supported by many more less specialized members. 
In l985 the British Army estimated the PIRA relied on only four or 
five master explosives experts.66 Finally, all groups are moving 
towards weapons and tactics that are increasingly sophisticated and 
deadly. Their level of violence is increasing, perhaps because the 
world has become immune to "routine" bombings and shootings. 
Past patterns and current developments point to several 
trends during the next ten years. First, Islamic fundamentalism will 
increase rather than wane, and it will be accompanied by continued 
cooperation in training among militant Islamic cliques. Algeria and 
Egypt will be subject to increased fundamentalist violence, and 
religion will have a greater appeal to the poor masses of those 
nations than their governments will. Continued Shia-Sunni, Iranian- 
Sudanese concord will be particularly crucial to support terrorist 
organizations in North Africa and the Middle East. There is every 
indication that radical Sunni Islam is on the ascent.67 The increased 
immigration of Muslims to the United States will facilitate 
fundamentalist terrorist actions being conducted here in the same 
way they made it easier to operate in Europe. 
Marxist groups will continue to decline because of the failure of 
communism in the former Soviet Union and general disillusionment 
with its philosophy. The remnants of those organizations have been 
deprived of their former East European safe havens. More 
importantly, they have lost their former popular support above and 
below ground. Without their support infrastructures these groups 
will eventually fade away. 
Another future trend will be increased participation in the 
political process by wings of terrorist organizations. Sinn Fein and 
the PIRA demonstrated how potent the terrorist political/military 
combination could be. They were emulated by the Basque ETA 
whose political wing, Herri Batasuna, generally draws l5 to l7 
percent of the votes in the Basque region of north Spain.6 s Several 
Middle Eastern groups have entered the political arena. Hizballah 
has recently ventured forth into mainstream Lebanese politics and 
fundamentalist Islamic groups have attained political successes in 
Turkey and Algeria. The political trend is also surfacing in South 
America where the Patriotic Union has pursued the interests of the 
Colombian FARC.69 
State-supported terrorism will remain common. This is because 
terrorism pays. Nations do not need to invest a great deal of 
resources to assist a terrorist organization, and can gain great 
negotiating power when it is presumed that they can influence the 
activities of certain movements. Terrorism is a particularly effective 
means of confronting the United States. Saddam Hussein challenged 
the United States conventionally and was decisively defeated. Iran 
challenges us constantly through her surrogates and has not suffered 
significantly for it. State sponsors of terrorism will be more wary of 
the groups they aid, and will increase their efforts to infiltrate and 
influence them, intensifying their attempts at agent recruitment 
during training. They will increasingly try to guarantee that the 
recipients of their assistance do not turn against them. 
Ethnic and religious movements will perpetuate as the world 
proceeds to evolve after the demise of the former Soviet Union. 
Repressed minorities that were held in place by oppressive 
communist regimes will struggle for national identity, and faced with 
overcoming more heavily armed governments, will resort to 
terrorism. 
Surviving ethnic/nationalist groups operating in hostile territory 
will become much more sophisticated as counter terrorist efforts 
increase in effectiveness and expertise. "Survival of the fittest" will 
be the rule; groups will either adapt or perish. Organizations that 
are able to operate from territory controlled by their sponsors, such 
as Hizballah in the Bekaa Valley, will not need to adapt as radically 
to persevere. Terrorist groups may take a vested interest in 
maintaining their safe havens and may deliberately attempt to 
undermine the political, military, or diplomatic efforts of their 
sponsors that could threaten them. 
Alliances between terrorists and criminals are already a matter of 
grave concern. The line separating terrorist organizations and 
criminal enterprises has become indistinct, and may be more vague 
in the future. The Irish Republican Army and the Loyalist 
paramilitaries illustrate groups that risk significant financial loss if 
there is a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Northern Ireland. 
Protracted struggle lends an air of legitimacy to their local extortion 
and racketeering operations. The growing worldwide appetite for 
illegal narcotics will provide even greater incentives for alliances 
between narcotics producers/distributors and indigenous terrorist 
bands. The amount of money Peruvian and Colombian terror 
organizations can extort from narcotics traffickers is staggering. 
Many drug lords pay terrorists $l5,OOO per flight in or out of 
protected runways.70 Police in Lima, Peru believe Sendero Luminoso 
has accumulated $4O million, largely from runway "landing fees" .71 
Future terrorists will continue to exploit publications that provide 
instruction in useful techniques. Military manuals are common, 
easily understood, and readily reproduced. The Anarchist's 
Cookbook and publications such as the PIRA's Green Book 
supplement those documents. Active duty or reserve military 
training provides a background of experience that terrorists will 
continue to tap as members of action teams and instructors. The 
Former Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact have generated thousands of 
dispossessed military commissioned and noncommissioned officers 
who could conceivably be enticed to provide mercenary instruction. 
The combination of profits from illegal undertakings, in conjunction 
with an available pool of experienced instructors, could lead to 
enhanced training for members of financially unconstrained 
movements. In addition to individual instructors, corporations may 
offer training to terrorist organizations. Israel's Hod Hohonit Security 
Firm was investigated for training Colombian drug cartel 
executioners.72 
Many terrorists will continue to learn their initial skills while 
serving periods of incarceration. John Stephenson (a.k.a. Sean 
MacStiofain) of the Provisional IRA learned terrorist techniques from 
Greek Cypriot inmates while serving a sentence at the Wormwood 
Scrubbs Prison.73 Increased apprehension and sentencing of 
terrorists to institutions where they mix with other convicted 
criminals will provide them with a fertile recruiting ground, and a 
violent and largely dispossessed audience for instruction/exchange of 
ideas. 
Terrorists will also avail themselves of advances in technology to 
further their aims and enhance their training. John Maxwell Oliphant 
developed a bomb making video for distribution to Aryan groups in 
the United States.74 The Internet and other computer systems 
provide a superb medium for spreading global propaganda. 
Worldwide mobile communications systems provide the means for 
coordinating training and operational planning across great distances. 
In the long run, Soviet orchestration of international terrorist 
training might seem like "the good old days", since Moscow exerted a 
moderating influence on movements it supported, and historically 
did not promote actions against United States territory. Today's 
Islamic Fundamentalists will be less likely to refrain from attacks on 
our soil (as we have seen with the World Trade Center Bombing). 
That lack of restraint, with more advanced and lethal munitions, to 
include weapons of mass destruction (as evidenced in Tokyo), will 
exemplify the character of future terrorist operations. 
MAPS
Map One: Simferopol and Baku 
Map Two: Plauen, Karl Marx Stadt, and Dresden 
Map Three: Babelsberg and Kleinmachnow (Klein Machsrow) 
Map Four: Varna 
Map Five: Al Bayda (Al-Beida), Surt (Sirte), and Tukrah (Tokra) 
Map Six: Baktia (PaktikaIPaktia), Jalabad, and Peshawar 
Map Seven: Wadi Seidna (Wadi Saydna)
NOTES 
l. Karl A. Segar, The Antiterrorism Handbook (Novato: Presidio 
Press), 6-1l. 
2. David Segal, "Tehran's Terror Czar: Sayeed Ali Akbar 
Mohtashemi," Counterterrorism and Security Affairs, Winter l989-9O, l4- 
l7. 
3. Segar, 4-6. 
4. Eileen MacDonald, Shoot the Women First (New York: Random 
House), 47. 
5. Joseph S. Bermudez, Terrorism, the North Korean Connection 
(New York: Taylor & Francis), l47. 
6. MacDonald, 33-62. 
7. Christopher Dobson and Ronald Payne, The Terrorists, Their 
Weapons, Leaders and Tactics (New York: Facts on File Publications), l2- 
l3. 
8. Segar, 44-45. 
9. Michael Connor, Terrorism, Its Goals, Its Targets, Its Methods 
(Boulder: Paladin Press), 22-26. 
10. Connor, 27. 
ll. Dobson and Payne, (The Terrorists), 7-8. 
l2. Dobson and Payne, (The Terrorists), l3O-l3l. 
l3. Roger W. Fontaine, Terrorism: The Cuban Connection (New York, 
Philadelphia, London: Crane Russack & Company), 36-37. 
l4. Claire Sterling, The Terror Network (New York: Reader's Digest 
Press), l4.
l5. Christopher Dobson and Ronald Payne, The Carlos Complex A 
Study in Terror (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons), 33-34. 
l6. Sterling, 253-254. 
l7. Sterling, 255. 
l8. Sterling, 255-256. 
l9. Stephen Segaller, Invisible Armies Terrorism into the 199O's 
(San Diego, New York, London: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Publishers), 
l26. 
2O. Sterling, 278. 
2l. Sterling 279. 
22. Roberta Goren, The Soviet Union and Terrorism (London: George, 
Allen and Union), l38. 
23. Sterling, 279-28O. 
24. Bermudez, Joseph S. Terrorism, the North Korean Connection 
(New York: Taylor & Francis), l32. 
25. Galia Golan, Gorbachev's "New Thinking" on Terrorism (New 
York: The Center for Strategic and International Studies), 88. 
26. Golan, 89. 
27. Bruce George and Timothy Watson, "Combating International 
Terrorism After l992" in European Terrorism Today & Tomorrow 
(New York: MacMillan Publishing), l9O. 
28. Patrick Seale, Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire (New York: Random 
House), 6-24. 
29. Sterling, 26l-264.
3O. Michael Eisenstadt, "Syria and the Terrorist Connection," Jane's 
Intelligence Review, January l993, 33. 
3l. Eisenstadt, 35. 
32. Eisenstadt, 35. 
33. Tim Ripley, "The PKK-Another Look at the Middle East's Shining 
Path," Jane's intelligence Review, August l993, 372. 
34. "Intelligence Services Report Greece Supporting PKK", Berlin Die 
Welt, 2 December l994, l. Translated by Foreign Broadcast Information 
Service: JPRS Report l2 December l994, (JPRS-TOT-94-O48-L). 
35. John M. Musacchio and Arnon Rozen, "Fundamentalist Fervor: 
Islamic Terrorism in the 8O's," Security Management, November l988, 56. 
36. Paul Wilkinson, "Terrorism, Iran and the Gulf Region," Jane's 
Intelligence Review, May l992, 226. 
37. Wilkinson (Iran), 224. 
38. Wilkinson (Iran), 226. 
39. "Israeli Police Find Faxes Calling for Attacks", Tel Aviv Yedi Ot 
Aharonot, 8 September l994, l and l7. Translated by Foreign 
Broadcast Information Services: JPRS Report l5 September l994 
(JPRS-TOT-94-O3 8-l). 
4O. Magnus Ranstorp, "Hezbollah' s Future?- Part l," Jane 's 
Intelligence Review, February l995, 34. 
4l. Anthony Davis, "Foreign Combatants in Afghanistan," Jane's 
Intelligence Review, July l993, 327. 
42. Davis, 328. 
43 . Davis, 33l.
44. "'Growing Activity' at 'Islamic Extremists' Training Camps", Paris 
AL- WATAN AL ARABI, 6 January l995, 6. Translated by Foreign 
Broadcast Information Service: JPRS Report l9 January l995 (JPRS 
TOT-95-OOl-L). 
45. James Bruce, "Arab Veterans of the Afghan War," Jane's 
Intelligence Review, April l995, l76. 
46. "Sudan's Secret training Camps," The Economist, lO September 
l992, 2-3. 
47. "Turning Informer," New York Times, !9 February l995. 
48. "Deputy Speaker Defects, Details Foreign Terrorist Training", 
Cairo AL AHRAM, l7 January l994, Translated by Foreign Broadcast 
Information Service: JPRS Report 3l January l994 (JPRS-TOT-94- 
OO4-L). 
49. James Wylie, "Sudan-The Middle East's Latest Rogue State," 
Jane's intelligence Review, July l992, 3ll. 
5O. "Patterns of Global Terrorism," Department of State, l993, 25. 
5l. Foreign Report, The Economist, l2 November l992. 
52. Foreign Report, The Economist, 3O April l992, 4. 
53. Ahmed Rashid, "March of the Militants," Far Eastern Economic 
Review, 9 March l995, l8. 
54. Rigoberto Tiglao, "To Fight or Not to Fight," Far Eastern Economic 
Review, 9 March l995, 2l. 
55. Thomas Bedford Jones Frank, "Sendero Luminoso: Origins, 
Outlooks and Implications. Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, 
California, June l986, 53. 
56. "Colombia's Other Gangsters," The Economist, 25 March l995, 48. 
57. Robert A. Friedlander, Documents of International and Local 
Control Volume VI Global Terrorism in the Dangerous Decade (London, 
Rome, New York: Oceana Publications Incorporated), 299, 3lO. 
58. Paul Wilkinson, "Terrorism in Europe-Retrospect and Prospect," 
Jane's The World In Conflict, 59. 
59. Christopher Dobson and Ronald Payne, The Never Ending War- 
Terrorism in the 8O's (New York: Facts on File Publications), l8O. 
6O. Dobson and Payne (Never Ending War), l82. 
6l. Dobson and Payne (Never Ending War), l85. 
62. Dobson and Payne (The Terrorists), 75. 
63. MacDonald,l36-l37. 
64. Roberta Goren, The Soviet Union and Terrorism (London, Boston, 
Sydney: George, Allen & Urwin), l39. 
65. Jeffery D. Simon, The Terrorist Trap. America 's Experience With 
Terrorism (Bloomington& Indianapolis: Indiana University Press), 358. 
66. Dobson and Payne (Never Ending War), l82 
67. Judith Miller, "Faces of Fundamentalism: Hassan al Turabi and 
Muhammed Fadlallah," Foreign Affairs, November/December l994, l42. 
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