The Abu Nidal Organization (ANO), once one of the most feared transnational terrorist organizations, is now at a crossroads. The mid-August, 2002, death of the leader Sabri al Banna (aka Abu Nidal or "father of the struggle") has left many open questions, such as who is to succeed him, where to relocate to, and — most importantly, how will the organization survive. With extensive networks but few links with other terrorist organizations, its activities have been characterized by years of treachery, opportunism, and inconsistency in selecting targets.
At least until Nidal's death, the ANO's ideological objective was to liberate Palestine via a pan-Arab revolution aimed at destroying Israel. The organization comprises about 400 members plus dozens of Palestinian militia men, and is organized by functional committees for various political, military and financial activities. Considerable support in the form of safe havens, training and logistic assistance has been supplied by Iraq, Libya and Syria.
Born in 1937 in Jaffa, Nidal started his career by joining Yasser Arafat's Fatah group in the early 1970s. This movement would become the backbone of the PLO. Bouncing between Jordan, Sudan and Iraq, he successfully rose through the PLO ranks. In 1973, he broke with Arafat, accusing him of selling out when the PLO moved toward the creation of a Palestinian statehood in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Nidal was soon sentenced to death, in absentia, by the PLO for plotting to kill Arafat, latter setting up his own Fatah Revolutionary Council as a counterforce to be also known as the ANO.
At Nidal's initiative, terror attacks increased during the 1970s, although the range and intensity of his activities were constantly subject to the nature of the regional geopolitics. From 1974 to 1983, the ANO was located in Baghdad, receiving logistical support from the regime there. As the 1980s war between Iraq and Iran intensified, however, Saddam Hussein expelled Nidal in an effort to garner American support for the war. The ANO leader soon found himself in Syria, where he worked to undermine peace plans involving Jordan, Israel and the PLO. However, in 1986, Damascus conceded to Washington's pressure to abandon him, and Nidal moved to Libya.
The most intensive years of the ANO campaign were in the 1980s. Major successful operations included the killings of Jordanian ambassadors in India, Italy and Spain in 1984; airport bombings in Rome and Vienna in 1985; and raids on Jewish schools and synagogues in Antwerp, Paris, Vienna, Istanbul, and the City of Poros excursion ship in Greece in 1988. By the time of Nidal's death in 2002, the organization had conducted terrorism in 20 countries, killing or injuring a total of nearly 900 persons. Assassination targets were numerous but inconsistent in selection, ranging from American, British, French, Israeli and Jordanian citizens, to moderate Palestinians and various Arab nationals.
From 1989 on, as Nidal grew ill, the organization became quiet due to internal feuds. It also underwent a serious internal split between two of its leaders — Atef Abu Baker of the Central Committee and Abdel Rahman Issa of the Political Bureau — when disagreements emerged over the organization's new modus operandi and how best to deal with Lebanese refugees. The ANO managed to stay together, however, and assassinated PLO deputy chief Abu Iyad and security chief Abu el Hul in Tunis in 1991.
In 1998, Libyan leader Gaddafi ousted Abu Nidal who moved to Egypt, later entering Iraq on a false Yemeni passport and relying on his fragile relationship with Saddam Hussein. By the late 1990s, years of financial problems and internal disorganization had severely reduced the ANO's capabilities. The organization's activities were further circumvented when authorities in Libya and Egypt shut down the ANO's operations in 1999.
On Aug. 14, 2002, Nidal's house in Baghdad was raided by Iraqi forces, and on Sept. 16, he was announced dead at the age of 65. Iraq claims that he shot himself. The fact that he died from four gunshot wounds to the head has led to some speculation that the Iraqis were responsible, the threat of regime change from Washington possibly convincing Hussein to eradicate domestic instabilities to protect his position and deter other prospective internal enemies.
Today, the ANO uses many names for the various activities for which it claims responsibility. Beside the ANO and Fatah Revolutionary Council, it is known as the Arab Revolutionary Brigades — also using the moniker the Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims when claiming credit for attacks on British targets, and Black September for attacks on Jordanian targets. Now, with its leader dead, the ANO's continued survival appears more in question than ever before.
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