Bobby, Munich, Khartoum

• The Arab-Israeli war of 1967 was a victory for the Israelis who were supported by the U.S. As revenge, a disgruntled Arab named Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Robert F. Kennedy (Bobby) since he was the leading candidate to become the next U.S. president and had pledged his continued military support of Israel. Sirhan was caught, tried, convicted and imprisoned (as of 2024, he remains in prison).

• At the 1972 Olympics, Palestinian terrorists took the entire Israeli wrestling team hostage, demanding the release of other Arab terrorists in prison. They gave a deadline as to how long they would wait before they killed the hostages.

• The Israeli leadership was not willing to meet the terrorists' demands. Instead they made a rescue attempt. Here is the result:

• The following year (1973) the same group of terrorists took an American ambassador, Cleo Noel, and one other American hostage at an Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. Their demand to the U.S. was that Sirhan Sirhan be released from prison. 

DECISION: President Nixon. How do you respond to the terrorists? Release Sirhan Sirhan? Make a rescue attempt? Do nothing? Any other option?

Click here to find out what Nixon did and the result.