Why was the Munich Olypics a turning point in hostage negotiation strategies and tactical response?
For those that don’t know: the asker refers to the massacre of the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. A Palestinian terrorist group, Black September, broke into the Olympic village and then brandishing guns, broke down the door to the unit where the Israelis stayed. Only one managed to escape alive. The so-called ‘hostage negotiation’ was a farce. The Germans REFUSED to allow the Israeli Mossad to be involved, a major and spiteful decision on the part of Germany. When the Germans finally tried to get into the unit where the hostages were being held, they forgot – unbelievably – to check to see if the terrorists had access to a television set in the room. Thus the terrorists sat and WATCHED the Germans approaching their room!!! Some of the Israelis were shot and killed when they tried to fight back. Those that were left were taken by the terrorists to two helicopters that the terrorists had demanded be left waiting for them. The German operation to rescue the Israelis was
