JAY MARTIN
71
Illyich Ramirez Sanchez was nearing the end of his education
in terrorism at the time of the Munich games , and he keenly grasped
the lessons which it offered. When he organized and carried out the
OPEC kidnapping , he clearly dressed for the part and had his lines
ready. He had already taken a stage name , borrowing "Carlos" from
the famous Brazilian theorist of terror , Carlos Marighella, the
author of
Handbook
oj
Urban Guerrilla Warfare,
who had been killed in
1969. Carlos was perhaps the first terrorist who understood that
publicity, public exposure , and a recognizable presence all offered
him benefits . The greater he grew in legend , the more powerful he
became . He took command in the OPEC episode by announcing
grandly to one of the ministers , "You will have heard of me already .
I am the famous Carlos . You can tell that to the others ."
At least so far as Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky was con–
cerned, Carlos's strategy worked perfectly - almost too well. Hear–
ing that the ministers were held by "the famous Carlos," Kreisky was
at once beset by visions of a bloodbath that would lose for Austria its
reputation as a safe international conference center, and he instantly
capitulated to 'Carlos's demands . "This Carlos is very dangerous ,"
Kreisky said nervously . "We have heard much about him and his
ruthless methods. In my opinion , we have to go along with him."
Kreisky moved so fast that Carlos felt he might be cheated out
of his media show ; he insisted on staying in the OPEC headquarters
long enough for the television cameramen to reach the scene. He
was imperious, grandiose in his sense of power. "I am the com–
mander here ," he told the negotiator. "I command Kreisky and
everybody else. Nobody can tell me what to do ."
Later, as he moved the hostages around the world by plane , he
spent long hours spinning the yarn of his life for the benefit of Sheikh
Zaki Yamani, presenting himself as a romantic playboy, beloved of
women, rather like a James Bond turned terrorist. He moved
around the plane in amiable , friendly fashion , chatting with his
prisoners . Like Hinckley at St. Elizabeth's, he gave out autographs.
MFlight Vienna to Algeria, 22-12-75 , Carlos," he wrote for the
minister from Nigeria. The Venezuelan oil minister, Valentin Her–
nandez Acosta, put it flatly: "At one moment Carlos acted like a
determined killer"; at the next , "He acted like a movie star." When
he
was not allowed to have his plane taxied to the spot reserved for
Colonel Qaddafi at the Tripoli airport, he was furious , convinced
that he was not being given "the proper honor." His most valued
prize was yet one more - always one more - occasion for theater.
