Word: nidal
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...foreseeable future, though Saddam Hussein's willingness to strike back if he can should not be underestimated. Libya -- also chastened by / U.S. bombs five years ago -- is conducting what the U.S. State Department calls a "charm offensive." Even so, President Muammar Gaddafi still provides bases and support for Abu Nidal and other terrorists...
...been hit hard. Chairman Yasser Arafat has managed to lose both the backing of his wealthy Arab patrons (for supporting Saddam) and that of the street (for not supporting Saddam enough). Last week Arafat's faction suffered a crushing blow when a Palestinian, apparently working for P.L.O. dissident Abu Nidal, assassinated Abu Iyad, the organization's No. 2 leader, and Abu Hol, its chief of internal security...
Among Saddam's allies are the Abu Nidal organization, believed to be responsible for some of the most savage terrorist attacks in recent years, and Abul Abbas, mastermind of the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro. But Saddam has also larded Iraqi diplomatic missions with potential terrorists. Says a former member of Saddam's feared secret police, the Mukhabarat: "There are teams outside Iraq ready to do many things. About 80% of Iraqi embassy personnel overseas work for the Mukhabarat...
...those are only the non-lethal problems. Saddam's close ties to terrorist groups -- Abu Nidal is just one Baghdad favorite -- could put U.S. citizens at risk everywhere. And then there are the hostages, 3,500 Americans held against their will in Iraq and Kuwait. Of all the potential political threats to Bush, this is the greatest. The sight of yellow ribbons, already a staple of the evening news, will fester like an open wound. Terrified of the nightmare that doomed Jimmy Carter's presidency, the White House is straining to avoid the H word. To no avail, of course...
Ordinarily, the freeing of hostages is cause for celebration. But when a Frenchwoman, her Belgian companion and their young daughter were released last week after being held for 2 1/2 years by Abu Nidal's Fatah-Revolutionary Council, a Libyan-backed militant organization, there were as many questions as cheers...