Terrorist claims dubbed ‘comic book stuff’

Press, 1 June 1985, Page 13

Terrorist claims dubbed ‘comic book stuff’

By

STAN DARLING

An account of anti-terror-ist activities by a New Zealand-born arms dealer may contain much more fantasy than truth. But the author of “The Specialist,” a man with the pseudonym of Gayle Rivers, is saying nothing. The book now being . distributed in New Zealand, has been accepted by its English publisher, and that is where it stands; The “Sunday Times” read the book earlier this year and asked questions of the Special Air Service regiment in which the author says,, he has served as a Regular, a reservist, and a mercenary. The newspaper said it had been ascertained that the arms dealer, in real life a man named Raymond Brooks, failed to qualify as an S.A.S. Territorial reservist. A spokesman for the Hutchinson Group . (N.Z.), Ltd, this country’s agent for the' British publisher, Sidgwick and Jackson, said that no background had been provided on Mr Brooks’ New Zealand connections. A passage in publicity material says that the author “spent his adolescence dedicated to motorbikes, flying, and rebellion.” At the age of 20, he joined the New Zealand Special Air Service “to channel his energy and talents.” The book’s publicity

material says that he was attached to the United States Army Green Berets in Vietnam, where “he received the grounding in special warfare that was to carry through to a lifetime of special covert operations as an elite professional.” Mr Brooks says that he has assassinated Basque terrorist leaders for the Spanish, hunted Irish Republican Army terrorists in Northern Ireland, trained Iraqi special forces, led commando raids against Iranian oil installations, and worked for the Americans in Lebanon, killing Syrian Intelligence officers to help protect United States Marines. “Sunday Times” reporters checked sections of the book with persons who had been in his “hunting territory” at the time. Senior S.A.S and Army officers suggested that many events he described never happened. Another section was described as “comic book stuff’ by a United States Army expert on the Gulf war. The New Zealand Hutchinson spokesman said that Sidgwick and Jackson had checked details of the book with Mr Brooks after the “Sunday Times” investigation, and he had supplied them with details that proved the book’s veracity “more or less.” Mr Brooks owns a company named the Mesa Corporation, with offices in England, Spain and Switzerland. The company special-

ises in military equipment. On the cover of “The Specialist” is a photograph identical to one used in a Mesa brochure promoting detonating equipment. The British newspaper said that Mr Brooks had joined the S.A.S. in May, 1975, but left a few months later after failing the selection course and being discharged. Mr Brooks told his publishers that he had sold the book to them, and it was up to them to sell it, said the Hutchinson spokesman. He would not be available for interviews since he was still involved in covert operations. i . He would not supply information on his New Zealand background. “Every incident in this book is true, and the people are all real,” says an author’s note in the book. All names have been changed for security reasons. The author says that the public would be heartened to learn that the authorities were capable of tackling terrorism with its own weapons. “I enjoy going on operations far more than I enjoy selling equipment,” he says. The book starts with the author receiving a call onT his Pacific blue Porsche car telephone as he drives along the shore of Lake Geneva. It is a direct call from a

United States Marine Corps major in Lebanon, asking him to lead a covert operation to kidnap a Syrian Intelligence officer in Beirut. The author says he has made three previous trips to Lebanon for the Americans. He gets into the environment he likes best, he says “as a fully military creature.” ■ Later in the book, after a string of other exploits where his military knowledge and steady killing hand swing the balance of terror against the other side, the author says that “few of my military friends know that I studied classical piano for a period, as well as racing motor-bikes and flying crop-dusting aircraft.” He reveals little about his personal life, except that he handles himself with style in all situations and loves going after women but not just for sex. In his Geneva apartment, he has the best stereophonic sound system available. For relaxation, he brings many of his other abilities into play. “I have also been a session drummer with a number of rock groups,” he says, “and even made an album with a well known rock group.”