At a time when the Western world worries about weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands, a more basic device has emerged as the weapon of choice – a life itself.
Data shows that the incidence of suicide attacks has increased from 31 in the 1980s to 98 in 2003 alone. The war in Iraq and escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have led to such an increase. Also, US foreign policy may be contributing to an acceleration of this trend.
In a ground-breaking study, University of Chicago political scientist Robert Papp has shown that there is little connection between religious fundamentalism and suicide attacks. The leading instigators of suicide attacks between 1980 and 2001 were the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, a nationalist group whose members, though from Hindu families, are adamantly opposed to religion. Religion does not play as large a role as it is normally accorded.
Papp’s study shows that suicide attacks follow a strategic logic designed to coerce modern liberal democracies into making political and territorial concessions. “Terrorists have learned that it pays,” leading to a rise in suicide attacks over the past two decades, according to Papp.
After reviewing psychological studies of suicide attackers, University of Michigan psychologist Scott Atran concluded that suicide attackers have no appreciable psychological pathologies and are as educated and economically well-off as the surrounding populations. To understand why nonpathological individuals volunteer to become suicide attackers we must focus on situational factors, which are largely sociological in nature. In the the Middle East, these include a collective sense of historical injustice, political subservience and a pervasive sense of social humiliations vis-a-vis global powers and their allies.
To eliminate suicide attacks ultimately requires addressing and lessening the grievances of populations that carry them out.
I totally agree…
[Source: Electronic Intifada]
thats the biggest load of rubbish iv ever seen in my life!!yes it is “wonderfull” to justify suicide attacks on civilians,never the less dont asume your readers to be stupid!
in thie pethetic article you dont mention hamas once!why i say hamas,is b/c hamas is running an indoctrination campaign ,in schools,in hospitals,in bars,in restuarants(and yes there are restuarants in gazza)
and what is thier doctrine?to destroy israel completely.so regardless of what my country does thats what they want.and it is hamas straping bobms to themselves,and palestinians who are supporting them
if they are supporting hamas then they are supporting hamas doctrine,which means no matter hwt israel does nothing will be achieved.also im sure you have noted that rafat signed a legislation in his “cabnet” saying that the palestinians will only accept ALL of jerusalem not half.
i also like to ask why have i not seen one letter or article from other israelis?you only show left wing articles and palestinians articles,you think thats fair?your web site is bais,and it doesnt take a genius to see that.
israel will fight her enemies no matter where they hid,and unlike europe we wont sit and allow them to get stronger
please who ever is the “editor” of this papper email me.id like to understand why this is a one sided forum,or to take it further,why are u using this form as a stage to bash israel,which appaently you know nothing about.
my email adress is rachmik@hotmail.com-thanka
for all those who do not know what terror actually is heres a definition for you:The term “terrorism” means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.
The term “international terrorism” means terrorism involving the territory or the citizens of more than one country.
The term “terrorist group” means any group that practices, or has significant subgroups that practice, international terrorism.
it has also become clear that many individuals on your web site choose to express thier ingornace by not knowing the actuall facts,and using their opinions to prove a point here are some FACTS(look them up if you wish)
1)Palestinian Arab terrorism against Jews ― in the decades before and after 1948 ― long preceded the 1967 war that created the disputed (or “occupied”) territories-and what exactly was your articles heading?”Suicide bombers driven more by politics than religion”???really are you sure about that?
2)Hamas and Islamic Jihad have repeatedly clarified, in official documents and statements, that their goal is not the creation of an independent Palestinian state, but rather the genocidal elimination of all Jewish presence in the region
3)Palestinian terrorist groups have strong affiliations with global Islamist terrorist groups and regimes, and are not merely “regional” in scope
4)Even in the context of warfare, deliberate attacks against civilian targets are illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and therefore demand being described as terrorism.
The latest wave of Palestinian terrorism, including over 100 suicide bombings since September 2000, has caused the brutal murder of 664 Israeli civilian lives. Israeli policy and action regarding the Palestinian people and leadership must be understood in the context of this unprecedented assault on a Western democracy.
As the West unites against barbaric Islamic terrorism that now also haunts continental Europe, it is essential that Israel’s struggle against Palestinian terror be properly identified as part of this larger battle
When news outlets differentiate between attacks in Israel and those elsewhere, they expose an editorial decision that Palestinian attacks are not part of that larger battle between Islamist terrorists and democratic civilization
but rather, more justified acts of nationalistic “resistance.” This journalistic act is factually wrong, morally dangerous, and a far cry from “neutral reporting.”
Understanding the thoughts and reasonings of such people are not justifications. No one’s saying it’s okay to strike terror by killing. Unless we decide that killing this breed of people off is the solution (which it is not, as it’ll only cause more unrest), we need to learn what the hell’s motivating them and how to stop all this with as little violence of possible. I realize there’s no simple solution to this, but we all need to start by not pointing fingers back and forth at one another – and I’m talking about both sides.
What I wrote and what the study I’m talking about says is not a justification for suicide attacks, it’s simply saying that it’s not religion that is pushing these people to do what they’re doing.
Of course some groups do use religion wrongfully and people’s ignorance to recruit them and encourage them to commit these suicide attacks, but that’s wrong.
As for what you said about this site being biased, well this site is a personal site where I voice my opinions and express my feelings and thoughts about what I see happening in the world.
But still, I try to be as moderate and unbiased as possible.
I try not to take sides as much as I can, although I know I do sometimes.
Anyway, my position on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is very clear: let’s just have peace.
Both sides are making mistakes, both sides are screwing up, and it’s about time a stop is put to all the bloodshed and a solution is found once and for all.
A change in mind has to happen on both sides, and the ultimate goal should be to save as many human lives as possible and to reach a deal that satisfies everyone and brings much needed peace to the region.
Agree, MMM. Trying to understand has nothing to do with condoning or justification. Anyway, I think terrorists are generally deranged, and if they hadn’t lived in a politically unstable country, they would have found another excuse for violence. In this case they have a (for them) wonderful combination of politics and religion to justify themselves. They would kill anyway; fortunately they blow themselves up in the process.
I propose putting all radicals (Jewish, Palestinian, political, religious) on an island with plenty of weapons and ammo and let them wipe out eachother. Or does that make me a radical as well? Then the real humans may be able to work things out.