Exploring Intelligence Archives Book

I think I owe Steven Spielberg a half-apology for bashing Munich two years ago. I still have objections toward his portrayal of the Mossad agents in the film. However, I was wrong when I accused him for disrespecting the Mossad (and the Israeli government, in that case), because they selected "Avner" (not a real name, obviously) who was an inexperienced junior field agent to lead a five-man team to avenge the deaths of eleven Israeli athletes massacred by the Black September terrorists during the Munich Olympics in 1972.

Apparently, that WAS the truth. Of course, Avner used to serve as a commando in one of Israelis' many special forces, but being an intel proves to be much different than being a mere soldier.

This book is written using a first-hand account notably from Avner himself. The description provided on the team's activities was a horrifying/mesmerizing/heart-wrenching/mind-boggling one. The author admitted that certain details were incapable of being verified and he had to alter some of them (esp. names) to protect his sources.

In my opinion, the author had done a great job as a biographer/researcher. He clearly separated his own opinion from other people's. The prologue about the Munich massacre…OMG. It made me shuddered. I just can't believe the Germans were so stupid - whilst they wanted to erase their bad image after more than 30 years anniversary of Nazi's atrocities - they acted carelessly in dealing with the hostage situation. Thank goodness finally they came to their senses, admitted they did not have a special unit for counter-terrorism by then, so they asked Israel to help them establishing the GSG-9.

Anyway, the following chapters told about the journey of Avner's team, mostly in European countries (Rome, Paris, Athens, etc) and also Beirut and Cyprus. His team consisted of five very different individuals: the ex-commando, youngest-of-the-lot Avner (team leader), the quiet, laid-back Hans (document forger), the eccentric Robert (bomb maker), the happy-go-lucky, practical Steve (driver, route strategist), and last but not least, the oldest, most experienced, calm, cautious Carl.

Avner was asked to do the assignment (i.e. assassinating 11 top terrorists responsible for the Munich massacre) by Golda Meir herself in her apartment. Well, who could refuse that great woman's request? Not Avner of course. There's a catch. Mossad and the government would not acknowledge them and their operation.

Mossad was genious, gotta admit that. They used one team as a self-contained unit, supplied with nothing but a hit-list and funds, to make its own way in the Europe underground in exactly the same way as any other small terrorist cell. To their credit, the Mossad also strongly prohibited collateral damage. They'd rather have the team to tail a person for months rather than kill him at the spot but with a non-combatant also killed.

The narrations for each mission blew me away. Amazingly real and meticulous. The methods used were varied, from simple assassination using Berettas, or putting six tailor-made, localized bombs under the target's bed. I was amused by the fact that Avner's team "outsourced" some of the supporting works to a French privateer group called "Le Group" (not a real name again, I assume). Well, well, living underground is expensive and difficult. One always needs supports for safe houses, logistics, weapon materials, surveillance, etc.

Another interesting aspect in this book is the human-interest issue. Two years living underground, with rare visits to their families, would definitely take its toll on the team members, including Avner. He's a sabra (an Israeli who is born in Israel), but he never really felt home in Israel. This is where Spielberg was wrong. In Munich, Eric Bana played a more frustrated Avner (close to going loco, I daresay). This book, which was supposed to be Spielberg's main source, told otherwise. Yes, Avner was having reasonable and not-baseless paranoia, but he neither regretted doing the mission, or whether it made any difference (which it did) nor completely blaming the Mossad's ruthless and cynical actions for everything bad that happened.

In general, I think counter-terrorism will always be controversial. However, counter-terrorism could be classified as an act of war, and terrorism as a war crime. The maps of the world are drawn in blood. That's the sad fact. Le monde, c'est la f*cking guerre, no?