Startling new revelations from the archives of the Czechoslovak secret police are shedding light on the complex relationships between Communist bloc intelligence services and notorious terrorists during the Cold War era. A new book by Daniela Richterova, an intelligence studies expert at King’s College London, challenges long-held assumptions about Soviet support for violent radicals.
Uncovering a Deception Operation
In June 1986, StB intelligence officers made contact with a couple staying at a Prague hotel who were traveling under assumed Syrian diplomatic identities. In reality, the man was none other than Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, the internationally wanted terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal, accompanied by his pregnant wife Magdalena Kopp.
The StB operatives informed the couple that French intelligence agents were in Prague on a mission to “liquidate” them, and advised Carlos to immediately leave the country. Within hours, he had boarded a flight out of Czechoslovakia. But the supposed French plot was entirely fictitious – a ruse concocted by the StB to get the unpredictable Jackal out of their territory.
A Complicated Relationship
While it has long been known that Carlos and other terrorists found safe haven behind the Iron Curtain, Richterova’s research, drawing on the uncommonly open Czechoslovak security archives, paints a more nuanced picture. Far from always providing steadfast support, Prague’s relationship with Middle Eastern radicals was often marked by wariness and confusion.
“There was this dramatic Reagan idea that the Soviets and all the other services were training them, giving them whatever they needed and then directing them to carry out attacks in the west. In fact, the reality was more complicated.”
– Daniela Richterova, Intelligence Studies Expert
The archives reveal especially close ties with Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organisation, extending to discussions of joint operations targeting dissidents abroad. However, the StB remained leery of more extreme Palestinian factions and solo actors like Carlos.
Gaps in Coordination and Competence
Richterova found little evidence of a centrally coordinated Soviet policy, with satellite states often struggling to monitor the web of revolutionary groups active on their soil. Czechoslovak officers lacked key language skills and a clear understanding of factional dynamics.
- Ad hoc approach: Interactions driven more by circumstances than grand strategies
- Limited capabilities: Ill-equipped to track sophisticated operators
- Reputational concerns: Wary of harboring radicals who could damage global standing
Echoes in the Present Day
While the Cold War is long over, the dilemmas facing states in their interactions with non-state armed groups remain salient. Richterova believes the Czechoslovak case provides rare insight into the internal deliberations of intelligence agencies as they navigate these uncertain waters.
“It’s about how states use their spies to interact with dangerous individuals, some of whom they want to align with and some who they don’t. It’s always a complicated business and a difficult dance.”
– Daniela Richterova
As policymakers and spymasters continue to grapple with the evolving threat landscape, this fascinating window into a secretive past provides valuable food for thought. The revelation of the wily StB plan to dupe Carlos the Jackal may be just the tip of the iceberg in terms of hidden histories waiting to be told.
