The members of the L.A. 8, not surprisingly, disagree with this stark view. Without admitting they were agents of the PFLP, those interviewed for this article did say there were aspects of the organization they found attractive.
The PFLP was secular, they said, and it promoted feminism. Its social programs were effective. It was staunch in its insistence on Palestinian statehood, and by the early 1980s its fighting wing seemed to be moving away from attacks on civilians and toward operations against military targets.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday July 01, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 64 words Type of Material: Correction
The L.A. 8 -- A time chart that accompanied an article in Wednesday's Section A about a long-running terrorism case known as that of the L.A. 8 made reference to a "Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine fundraiser." Whether money raised at the 1986 event went to the Popular Front organization is a matter of dispute and the central issue in the case.
That they could hold these views and still claim not to support PFLP-sponsored terrorism, was something Knight could not accept: "To the committed PFLP member," he asserted in one document, "pulling a trigger is no different than selling a subscription to Al Hadaf, and soliciting money for the cause is the same as killing Zionists. Every act has a political message. Every utterance carries a terrorist purpose."
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By 1984 the object of Knight's investigation had become clear: to "neutralize" the PFLP in Southern California by removing Hamide. He described Hamide, who had studied marketing at the University of Oregon and had gained permanent-resident status, as "intelligent, aggressive, dedicated," with "great leadership ability." Taking him out of action, he wrote to his superiors, would "severely hinder the PFLP in L.A."
Knight began to stake out fundraisers organized by Hamide, noting that he did little of the physical work but gave plenty of orders. The speeches at the events, Knight would later report after obtaining translations, were "all anti-peace, anti-United States peace settlement, anti-Jordanian peace settlement and anti-Israel." One summary also mentioned "anti-Reagan" overtones. Still, it was a difficult criminal case to build.
Various Palestinian charity organizations were listed as the official sponsors of the fundraisers, and donation checks were made out to them. Knight, relying on what he said was a single confidential source, regarded this as a sham. In any event, the money raised at the Southern California events he staked out was never traced to find out exactly where it was spent.
Knight believed it made little difference if the funds were earmarked for benign works -- donations to a PFLP kindergarten simply would free up money for PFLP AK-47s. "We know that the United States is a moneymaking apparatus for the PFLP from their captured documents," Knight testified in his deposition. The group committed "lots of attacks on people, a lot of military attacks, as well. And it's not free. It costs money. And money is fungible."
