The untold history of Czechoslovakia's complex relations with Middle Eastern terrorists and revolutionaries during the closing decades of the Cold War
In the 1970s and 1980s, Prague became a favorite destination for the world's most prominent terrorists and revolutionaries. They arrived here to seek refuge, enjoy recreation, or hold secret meetings aimed at securing training, arms, and other forms of support. While some were welcome with open arms, others were closely watched and were eventually ousted.
Watching the Jackals is the untold history of Czechoslovakia's complex relations with Middle Eastern terrorists and revolutionaries during the closing decades of the Cold War. Based on recently declassified intelligence files, Richterova unveils the story of Prague's engagement with various factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization, along with some of the era's most infamous terrorists, including Carlos the Jackal, the Munich Olympics massacre commander Abu Daoud, and the Abu Nidal Organization. In this gripping account, Richterova explains why "Cold War Jackals" gravitated toward Prague and how the country's leaders reacted to their visits, and he uncovers the role Czechoslovakia's security and intelligence apparatus – the StB (Státní bezpečnost) played in these, at times, dangerous liaisons.
Drawing on interviews and remarkably detailed records from the former Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic), Richterova offers readers interested in the intelligence world a fascinating account of how states use their spies to pursue covert policies with violent nonstate actors. The book also introduces new evidence and nuances into old debates about whether the Communist Bloc supported terrorism.
Reviews
"Based on multi-archive research, this important book shows that several pre-1989 international terrorists traveled to communist Czechoslovakia, closely watched by its special services. Dr. Richterova's definitive work reveals the nuanced and complex support that a Soviet bloc state provided to several nefarious actors sworn to destroy Western democracies."—Igor Lukes, professor of history and international relations, Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University
"Watching the Jackals is an important book that sheds new light on both the Cold War's final decades and the East Bloc's complicated relationship with the terrorist groups active at that time. Daniela Richterova has deftly mined the astonishingly complete archive of Czechoslovakia's intelligence and security service to produce a sophisticated and nuanced analysis of the complexity of these relations that greatly enhances our understanding of Cold War dynamics and Soviet-era attitudes toward terrorists and terrorism."—Bruce Hoffman, professor, Georgetown University, author of God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America
About the Author
Daniela Richterova is associate professor in the Department of War Studies at King's College London. She is a leading expert among the new generation of intelligence and security scholars, and she specializes in the history of Cold War espionage and state relations with terrorists and revolutionaries. She regularly publishes in leading academic and media outlets, including International Affairs and Foreign Policy.
