VZCZCXRO3764
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHTH #1491/01 1601400
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 091400Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5746
INFO RUCNFB/FBI WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001491 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/PD, EUR/SE, DS/ISI/PII, DS/OP/EUR, DS/DSS/ITA, 
DS/P/A 
FBI FOR CTC/ITOS/TGU, OIO/IOU-II AND WFO/NS-12 
CIA FOR CTC, EUR/AEG, EUR/LGL, EUR/AEGRTB 
JUSTICE FOR HERRUP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2016 
TAGS: PTER PGOV GR
SUBJECT: REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE: NEW GENERATION OF DOMESTIC 
TERRORISTS? 
 
REF: A. ATHENS 1389 
     ¶B. ATHENS 404 AND PREVIOUS 
     ¶C. ATHENS 104 
 
Classified By: CDA TOM COUNTRYMAN FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  On June 8, the weekly satirical "To 
Pontiki" published a lengthy proclamation by the 
Revolutionary Struggle (RS) organization claiming 
responsibility for a May 30 bomb blast aimed at Culture 
Minister (and former Public Order Minister) George 
Voulgarakis (ref A).  The proclamation, occupying 11 
single-spaced pages in the original, announces that RS 
targeted Voulgarakis in an "attempted execution" because of 
his role in upgrading regime security during the Athens 
Olympics, the abduction and interrogation of Pakistani 
immigrants (ref C), and the mobile phone wiretapping scandal 
(ref B).  RS, which shares some operational similarities with 
the former November 17 terrorist organization, is to be taken 
seriously.  It has explosives, a twisted political ideology 
based on the "evils of globalization," a willingness to 
target political figures, and may represent a new generation 
of domestic terrorists.  (Note: Full translation of 
proclamation at www.opensource.gov  End Note.) 
 
RS Behind Voulgarakis Attack, Spouts Twisted Ideology 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  The proclamation details how RS surveilled 
Voulgarakis and his security escort and planned the bomb 
attack; rejects media headlines calling the blast a "blind 
attack;" includes a strong indictment of state-sponsored 
"terrorism of mass surveillance;" slams Greece's involvement 
in the war on terror; and delivers a lengthy diatribe against 
the "supranational state," the theory of the clash of 
civilizations, and the U.S.-Greek strategic partnership.  The 
proclamation concludes with a rambling call to turn the war 
on terror into a "social revolution." 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Written in careful vernacular, the author appears 
to have a decent, if twisted grasp of current affairs and 
local political commentary.  The tone is revolutionary, with 
frequent direct or indirect references to the need for "armed 
revolutionary action."  The author takes the Greek 
government, and PM Karamanlis personally, to task for getting 
involved in the fight against Islamic fundamentalism and 
warns that cases like the Pakistani affair "... could be 
characterized as an act of war against Muslim immigrants 
living in our country and, more generally, against the Muslim 
and Arab world."  It follows, then, according to the RS rant, 
that "armed revolutionary acts," like the Voulgarakis 
bombing, "... build a climate of trust with the peoples 
resisting (the war on terror) ... and could be a deterrent of 
war reprisals (against Greece) by armed Islamists." 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The author assumes a global view of world events 
and identifies the loss of national sovereignty as the key 
factor in the growth of a "supranational state" under the 
aegis of the U.S., which responds only to a "supranational 
elite."  In this context, FM Bakoyannis and Defense Minister 
Meimarakis are mentioned for agreeing to Greece's involvement 
in "neo-liberal globalization" and the "surrender" of Greek 
interests in cases such as Cyprus, Macedonia, and the future 
status of Kosovo. 
 
RS Compared with November 17's Ideology... 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Unlike the November 17 terrorist organization -- 
for decades Greece's dominant and most murderous group, its 
main leaders now imprisoned -- RS appears less preoccupied 
with the organization and presumed crimes of the Greek 
capitalist system.  It is more interested in the emerging 
"global empire" promoted and sustained by the U.S.-led war on 
terror.  While 17N had no kind words for American 
imperialism, RS appears concerned more with global trends in 
the context of the necessity to move immediately toward a 
"social revolution" -- in which Greece should play a role, if 
only as a means of deterring Islamic attacks inside the 
country.  Those ready to join the ranks of this revolution, 
RS suggests, should connect "with the liberation, 
anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist movements in the rest of 
the world as a pre-condition for the overthrow of 
capitalism." 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Like 17N, RS warns its targets to cease their 
"anti-people" practices or suffer "revolutionary justice." 
As the proclamation said it: "The only justice that could be 
meted would have been Voulgarakis' execution.  And if we 
failed because of an unlucky coincidence (this time), it does 
not mean we would fail next time we will choose to strike 
some SOB. of political or economic authority." 
 
... and Modus Operandi 
---------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU)  RS appears prepared to carry out "dynamic actions," 
as 17N was.  It assigns a good deal of attention to 
logistics, surveillance, and overall intelligence.  Like 17N, 
it claims it would rather abort a well-prepared "action" than 
harm passers-by.  RS goes into great pains to say it does not 
tolerate "blind strikes" that could endanger innocent 
bystanders.  Indeed, the proclamation emphasizes that an 
initial attempt at "executing" Voulgarakis had to be aborted 
because those charged with exploding the bomb spotted a 
motorcyclist approaching the scene.  The group also argues 
that no attempt would have been made if Voulgarakis' family 
had been spotted nearby. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Like 17N, it appears that RS is more comfortable 
with remotely detonated devices, requiring the presence of 
its members in close proximity to the target until the last 
moment, and avoids timer-controlled devices that escape 
control once they've been set and abandoned.  (Note: It is 
unclear how seriously RS takes its own rhetoric: the group 
took responsibility for a large bomb that, with little 
advance warning, exploded in December 2005 in Athens' busy 
Constitution Square and could easily have killed many people. 
 End Note.) 
 
Comment: A New Generation of Terrorists? 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C)  This group is to be taken seriously.  Its members 
have explosives, tactical agility, planning and, despite the 
rhetoric, do not hesitate to place bombs in busy downtown 
Athens and even next to an elementary school.  They have 
declared their intention to continue targeting what they call 
the "SOBs" of the political system, so that they "...come to 
understand what it means to suffer casualties."  While there 
is no mention thus far of targeting foreign 
"capitalist-imperialists," it would not be a leap of faith 
for RS to focus its attention on the U.S. presence in Greece. 
 
COUNTRYMAN