Bruce Allen Scharlau PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

stated that the prisoners must be brought into the discussions about the
new international situation for revolutionary movements 1
to be brought together in larger groups 1 41
62
and their need
but the prisoners were not
the operational focus they once were. Their importance lay instead 1
their ability to recruit new members through hunger strikes 1
in
because the
hunger strikes create opportunities through demonstrations, discussions
and other activities for potential new recruits to identify with RAF
activities 1 to learn about its ideas, and meet people 1 who could lead
potential recruits to other members as is discussed later in chapter
four.
The 'Commando level', the hard-core leadership of the RAF in 1985
had about twenty persons in the underground who undertook the bombings
and assassinations for the group. They were recruited from the
'legitimate fringe' in the mid-eighties. 42
To minimise the risk to itself the underground group was buffered
from the outside world by a close legal level of about 200 persons.
These persons lived a legal existence, and so their names were mostly
unknown to the authorities. The group logistically supplied the commando
level, conducted small armed actions, and provided reconnaisance and
planning operations in preparation for larger commando level operations,
while also maintaining contact with the prisoners. 43
In between the legal group and the underground hard-core were the
thirty to forty person strong group of the 'Illegal Militanten der RAF'
(Illegal Militants of the RAF), who conducted bombings as part of the
RAF strategy. The group shares some logistics with the 'commando level'l
and some had lived in the underground. 4 4
After the '84/85 Offensive' the Red Army Faction organised the
bombing of the US air base in Frankfurt which involved the murder of an
American serviceman, Edward Pimental, to obtain his identity card to
ease airbase access. His murder outraged the left more than the death
and injury of the base bombing that killed two and injured twenty and
forced the RAF
to publish a separate statement that argued he was a
legitmate target because he was an American soldier. 45
41 Horchem (1987 I), 15; n.n'l Der Koenig ist Tot, Hilgar Kopper
Nachfolger: RAF Dokumentation 30.11. -6 .1. 90 (Hamburg: no publisher/date
given), 3.
42 Bundesministerium des Innern ( ed. ) 1 Verfassungsschutzbericht
1985. (Bonn: EMI, 1986)1 120.
43 ibid., 125.
44 Horchem (1987 1)1 9j"Im Ziel l 1m Kampf" Der Spiegel 43/1986, 24;
EMI (ed.), VSB 1985, 124-5.
45 Red Army Faction, "Zur Aktion gegen die Rhein-Main Air Base und
die Erschiessung von Edward Pimental", in: Jean Paul Marat (ed.),
Widerstand Heisst Angriff! erklaerungen, redebeitraege, flugblaetter und