Paul Bellow
- "What the hell is a good terrorist?""
Bellow:
- "He’s a businessman whose business is killing people to make a political point... almost like advertising. They serve a larger purpose, at least in their own minds. They believe in something, but not like kids in catechism class, more like reasoned adults in Bible study."
Dr. Paul Bellow is a character that appears in the Rainbow Six novel. He worked as Rainbow's psychiatrist and negotiator.
Biography
Paul Bellow earned his doctorate in psychology and became a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. He was later recruited by the FBI and traveled the world on numerous operations. In one instance, he was loaned to the Italian government for a job in Moro. The next year, Bellow refused to take an assignment in Argentina for unknown reasons.
In 1999, Bellow was reassigned to the newly formed Rainbow counter-terrorism unit as the organization's psychiatrist and negotiator. A few weeks later, a hostage situation erupted at a commercial bank in Bern, Switzerland. Bellow joined Rainbow leadership in the communication center and watched the news coverage of the situation. A short time later, Bellow noted something was wrong based on the police's body language. The scene then escalated with the execution of a hostage whos body was carried out of the building by another hostage named Hans Richter.
This prompted the Swiss government to give the official order for Rainbow to handle the situation. Bellow traveled to Bern alongside Team 2. During the flight, he spoke with Team 2 leader Domingo Chavez who wanted to expand his knowledge on psychology. After touching down, Bellow dressed himself in a Swiss Police uniform to hide his identify from a medical colleague and asked Marius Roebling to speak with Richter once they had arrived at the bank. Upon meeting Richter, he identified Ernst Model and Erwin Guttenach as two of the terrorists. Bellow then took Richter aside to help Tim Noonan review the audio tapes of Model's call to police with a Swiss police officer acting as a translator.
After reviewing the taped conversations, Bellow began to create criminal profiles for Ernst Model and the other terrorists. He informed Team 2 of Model's dangerous mental state and that an assault resolution needed to be done as soon as possible. To complete his criminal profiles, Bellow interviewed Richter and calmed him down by giving him three stiff shots.
Regaining his composure, Richter recalled what had happened in the bank and went over the experience several times with Bellow. Not long after, Model made his final demand for his crew to be transported to the airport within thirty minutes, less he start killing hostages.
Following the mission's success, Chavez asked Bellow for his thoughts on what they could have done. Bellow stated that he did not think the operation could have gone differently. He did believe that even though it was out of their control, they may have prevented the death of the hostage had Rainbow been involved earlier in the situation. Bellow then told Chavez that Model's motive for the robbery conflicted with his ideology but that it was not uncommon in cases like this. During the post-mission brief, Bellow noted to John Clark that they needed to follow the police investigation of the incident as it was unclear if Model was acting as a terrorist or bank robber. He also told Clark that for him to be an effective negotiator, Rainbow would need more translators to work with going forward.
Quotes
- "‘Shakes’ are entirely normal—the release of stress energy. The body has trouble letting it go and returning to normal. But training attenuates that. And so does a drink."
- "There will be times when one might have to allow a terrorist to kill a hostage. It will not be pleasant, but it will occasionally be necessary."