Terrorist attacks boosted the F.L.N.’s diplomatic standing despite revulsion

Evidence

Outrages of terrorism by the F.L.N. such as Mélouza and the Algiers bombings would indeed produce a momentary revulsion in the United States, but the eventual reaction would, perversely, somehow end up as one of irritation against France as being responsible for the war in which such horrors could take place; a psychological process not dissimilar to that in the 1970s where the spate of Palestinian hijacking and terrorism against innocent targets did nothing to make the world less hostile towards Israel. One of the F.L.N. lobbyists at the United Nations is quoted by Edward Behr as saying: “You must realise that every time a bomb explodes in Algiers we are taken more seriously here.” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 765

Categorization

• XREF: Direct parallel to the Palestinian hijacking era makes this a powerful cross-domain link worth keeping. — connects to: The FLN weighed international opinion when choosing when to use terror; F.L.N. terrorism backfired against France more than against Algeria itself; F.L.N. terror backfired against France, not the F.L.N., abroad (+5 more)
• SEED: The ‘every bomb makes us more serious’ logic is an article angle on how terrorism functions as asymmetric diplomatic leverage.

Related

• F.L.N. terrorism in France alienated even its expected leftist allies. (similarity 0.92)
• F.L.N. terror backfired against France, not the F.L.N., abroad (similarity 0.92)
• F.L.N. terrorism backfired against France more than against Algeria itself (similarity 0.90)
• Lifting military pressure let F.L.N. terrorism nearly double from November to December. (similarity 0.83)
• The FLN weighed international opinion when choosing when to use terror (similarity 0.83)
• The F.L.N. moved its terrorism into metropolitan France in summer 1958 (similarity 0.83)
• Removal of military pressure let the F.L.N. double its terrorist incidents within a month (similarity 0.83)
• Indiscriminate F.L.N. bombing alienated the Muslim working class (similarity 0.82)
• F.L.N. France terrorism avoided indiscriminate civilian bombing (similarity 0.82)
• F.L.N. shifted its terrorist focus to metropolitan France (similarity 0.82)
• Metropolitan terrorism alienated the French Left that supported Algerian independence (similarity 0.82)
• F.L.N. attacks on French schools were targeted war against French culture, not random savagery (similarity 0.82)
• The F.L.N. physically extended its Algerian terror and fundraising methods to metropolitan France. (similarity 0.81)
• The F.L.N.’s suspension of French terrorism encouraged de Gaulle’s peace initiative (similarity 0.81)
• F.L.N. terror silenced Muslim informants and paralyzed collaboration with the French (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• The massacre was a strategic net gain for the F.L.N. despite its horror #corroborates (0.80) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 388
• The F.L.N. hard-liners won standing by crediting violence, not soft diplomacy, for concessions. #contradicts (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1251
• F.L.N. terrorism and G.P.R.A. assertiveness eroded the French ‘third force’ Muslim strategy #expands (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1283