Breaking History – "Modern Terrorism Was Born in the 1970s"

Podcast: Breaking History
Host: The Free Press
Guest: Jason Burke (author of The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s)
Producer/Interviewer: Poppy Damon
Date: February 25, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the origins of modern terrorism, focusing on the seismic changes that occurred during the 1970s. Jason Burke, a veteran security correspondent and current Guardian journalist, discusses the historical roots and evolution of international terror, exploring how the strategies, motivations, and cultural underpinnings of groups like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Red Army Faction, and figures like Carlos the Jackal set the stage for the terrorist dynamics familiar today. The discussion draws direct lines between the past and present dilemmas, policies, and moral questions governing state and public responses to terrorist violence.

Key Topics & Insights

1. The Dawn of Modern Terrorism: The 1970s as a Turning Point

[04:02–06:44]

• Munich, Hijackings, and a New Era:
  Jason Burke opens by recounting the "Revolution Airport Operation" (September 1970), a PFLP-coordinated hijacking of multiple planes to a desert airstrip in Jordan. This spectacle aimed for global publicity of the Palestinian cause, trading hostages for prisoner release—and more importantly, capturing worldwide media attention.

  "There's nothing like it before or since until you get perhaps to 9/11, 2001. I mean, it's a coordinated hijacking of four planes... an absolutely spectacular attack which will get them on all the TV bulletins, all the front pages and really launch their cause and their grievances into the global consciousness." — Jason Burke [04:20]

• Why the 1970s?:
  Burke situates the book—and the decade—in the context of revolutionary fervor, economic distress, and technological/media disruption. Although certain aspects seem outdated, the echoes are unmistakable:

  “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme as the old adage goes... I could really see people wrestling with problems that we’re wrestling with today and again, hoping for some kind of solution. And some of those people then, as now, hoped to reach that solution through violence.” — Jason Burke [06:52]

2. Ideological Cohesion vs. Depth of Division

[09:05–12:38]

• Shared Leftist Vision and Internal Frictions:
  The era's revolutionary impulse was undergirded by a clear, leftist ideology—anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism, and even cultural icons like Che Guevara serving as unifying symbols. Yet beneath the surface, significant disagreements and personality clashes splintered these movements:

  “Within this broad movement... people are people and people are very different.” — Jason Burke [09:35]

• Quote Example:

  “There are these common words, common slogans, common clothes, common icons... Che Guevara... But, you know, when you actually drill down, there are massive differences... The Germans think the Dutch are amateurs. The Dutch think the Germans are all really anal and overly controlling. And then all this history about the Second World War comes out.” — Jason Burke [09:35]

3. The Mechanics & Impact of Early Terrorist Actions

[13:03–17:16]

• The 1970 Hijackings’ Aftermath:
  Discusses the operational chaos, Western governments' confusion (debating between military action, negotiations, and appeasement), and how the event forced the world into grappling with unprecedented scenarios and questions around state response.

  “They call them air pirates and skyjackers. I mean, they haven’t got vocabulary yet. Ten years later, it’s all changed.” — Jason Burke [17:16]

• Media & Public Response:
  The spectacular destruction of planes (after hostages had been released) created globally televised shockwaves. Varied public and media reactions—split along ideological lines—reflected a struggle to comprehend both motives and responses.

  “As one commentator said, the terrorists want a lot of people looking and not a lot of people dead.” — Jason Burke [17:16]

• Memorable anecdote: High public skepticism when airport security protocols were first proposed:

  “There’s some suggestion that… everyone getting onto a plane could take all their luggage out of their bags or put their bags on a conveyor belt… The response is like, ‘Oh, come on, don’t be ridiculous. Nobody is going to accept that.’” — Jason Burke [17:16]

4. Munich 1972: A Watershed Event

[20:17–28:12]

• Munich Attack Unpacked:
  Details the Black September attack on the Olympic Village, the failed rescue attempts, and the disaster’s transformative impact on both counter-terrorism and international consciousness.

  “It was not meant to end up with the deaths of 11 hostages, which is what happens... It’s an absolutely awful event and a genuine tragedy at the end of this sort of appallingly dramatic day.” — Jason Burke [21:24]

• Myth vs. Reality:
  Burke debunks the myth that terrorists watched the German response unfold live on TV in their room—no television was present, despite the story's cultural power.

  “Sadly, it didn’t happen... There was no TV. There wasn’t even a plug for a TV.” — Jason Burke [23:46]

• Israeli Assassination Campaign:
  The aftermath included an Israeli anti-terror campaign that was less precise than mythologized, targeting not just direct perpetrators but "the only ones they could find."

  “It ended in a real disaster when they killed completely the wrong person... But it says a lot about these conscious states, grasping, groping really for some kind of solution to the problem.” — Jason Burke [26:56]

5. Tactical Evolution: Counter-Terrorism and Hostage Dilemmas

[28:51–31:08]

• How States Adapted:
  Post-Munich, states transitioned from improvisation (negotiation, appeasement) to dedicated counter-terror units (e.g., SAS, GIGN, GS9, Israeli special forces).

  “Because of Munich, they all sit up, all these various governments and think, ‘We’ve got to have a team who we can deploy, a team of specialists.’” — Jason Burke [28:51]

• Perpetual Moral Dilemmas:
  The challenge of whether to negotiate or use force remains unresolved, with shifting policies even as the contexts (from 1970s Europe to ISIS hostages) evolve.

6. Humanizing the Extremists: Inside the Minds of Radicals

[31:08–34:41]

• Perpetrators’ Moral Debates:
  Burke brings out striking moments where young left-wing radicals, like the Red Army Faction members, wrestled all night with the morality of killing working-class bodyguards as collateral for their cause:

  “It’s a really kind of human moment. Even if what they're doing is abhorrent, morally and entirely unjustifiable... they’re making life, literally life and death decisions based on ideology, based on all sorts of other reasons.” — Jason Burke [31:08]

7. The Cult of Personality: Carlos the Jackal and The Age of Celebrity Terrorists

[34:52–41:53]

• Carlos the Jackal – Fact and Fiction:
  The notorious Venezuelan-born militant emerges as a self-mythologizing, seductive figure—more interested in his own legend than in ideologies.

  “Carlos is just awful. I mean, he’s just a horrible man and has been hugely glamorized...” — Jason Burke [34:52] “He was basically the first celebrity terrorist. In an age where, you know, this sort of celebrities like we have now was just coming through. He was known everywhere… like once we had with Osama bin Laden…” — Jason Burke [36:04]

• Narcissism over Ideology:
  Burke argues that for Carlos (and some others), terrorism was less about revolution and more about ego and spectacle:

  “He’s a narcissist who doesn’t care. I mean… he starts going, but I am. But my heart is. Above all, I am committed to the revolution. I mean, it’s total rubbish.” — Jason Burke [39:48]

8. Radicalization, Class, and Shifting Motivations

[42:44–47:50]

• The Middle-Class Radical:
  Despite the stereotype of poverty-driven violence, Burke’s research—and state research—showed no direct link. Instead, young, educated, middle-class individuals ("people who feel more empowered…more likely to go out and try and change the world") predominate.

  “The only thing you can say is there’s no direct link between poverty and violence, certainly not political violence… Historically it’s the kind of the middle classes or the often extremist actors…” — Jason Burke [43:13]

• Continuity from Leftist to Islamist Violence:
  A surprising similarity exists between the radical leftists of the 1970s and the Islamist extremists of the 1980s onward—both predominantly middle class, well-educated, seeking fundamental change, and often disappointed by slow or non-existent reforms.

• Fragmentation of Ideology into Identity:
  By the 1990s, motivation for violence shifted from grand ideological projects to narrower identity issues—white supremacy, Islamism, eco-terrorism—often with more indiscriminate violence.

  “In the 70s you kind of start with one where it’s all ideology and you end in a place where it’s much more identity and actually with much more lethal violence as well.” — Jason Burke [47:50]

9. The Legacy: From the 1970s to Bin Laden

[47:50–50:48]

• Inheritance of Tactics and Lessons:
  Bin Laden and other modern extremists were deeply shaped by the 1970s, both in method and mindset. The “vacuum” created by state clampdowns on the left was crucial for Islamists’ rise in the Middle East.

  “Bin Laden is a child of the 70s... Other things I found was that how the Islamists were actually influenced by what the leftists were doing. And the fact actually that the leftists were the ones that caught the brunt of the state repression was very useful to the Islamists...” — Jason Burke [48:15]

• Divergence of Revolutionary Outcomes:
  Whereas Western societies largely channeled the energy of the 1970s into reforms, the absence of concessions in the Middle East drove continued recruitment and escalation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the hijackers’ intent:

  “The terrorists want a lot of people looking and not a lot of people dead.” — Jason Burke [17:16]

• On celebrity and violence:

  “He was basically the first celebrity terrorist. In an age where, you know, this sort of celebrities like we have now was just coming through.” — Jason Burke [36:04]

• On radicalization:

  “There’s no direct link between poverty and violence, certainly not political violence...” — Jason Burke [43:13]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:02] – The September 1970 coordinated airplane hijackings
• [06:44] – Why the 1970s matter for today’s terrorism
• [09:35] – Leftist ideology and internal splits among radicals
• [13:03] – The hijacking’s messy aftermath & state confusion
• [17:16] – Public debate, media coverage, and the beginnings of modern airport security
• [20:26] – The Munich Olympics attack and resulting sieges
• [23:46] – The myth (and reality) of terrorists watching live news
• [26:56] – Israeli campaign of targeted assassinations
• [28:51] – How Munich triggered the creation of special counter-terrorism units
• [31:08] – Internal debates among terrorists on the morality of killing
• [34:52] – Carlos the Jackal: celebrity, charm, and the making of a myth
• [39:48] – Shallow ideology vs. narcissism among radical personalities
• [43:13] – Middle class roots and radicalization studies
• [47:50] – Shift to identity-fueled violence and the legacy to present day
• [48:15] – How Islamism built upon the failures and tactics of the 1970s left

Episode Conclusion

Burke and the host close by reflecting on the unresolved moral and tactical conundrums that continue to shape counter-terrorism and radicalization in the 21st century. The roots of today’s terror landscape—both state policies and violent actors—are traced directly to experiments, failures, and adjustments made in the tumultuous decade of the 1970s.

A full-spectrum history lesson for understanding the present: This episode is essential listening for anyone seeking to understand why and how modern terrorism came to be—and why its core moral and strategic dilemmas remain as acute as ever.