Pensieri di un lunatico minore

The tactics of suicide terrorism

There is an interview published in The American Conservative, today, that discusses some research that has been done into the causes, and motivation of suicide terrorism. The rationale and “logic” is a bit unnerving, but honestly, it seems like it’s much more strategic of an activity than many people believe. Some quotes:

The central fact is that overwhelmingly suicide-terrorist attacks are not driven by religion as much as they are by a clear strategic objective: to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland. From Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank, every major suicide-terrorist campaign—over 95 percent of all the incidents—has had as its central objective to compel a democratic state to withdraw.

People who make the argument that it is a good thing to have them attacking us over there are missing that suicide terrorism is not a supply-limited phenomenon where there are just a few hundred around the world willing to do it because they are religious fanatics. It is a demand-driven phenomenon.

There will be a tiny number of people who are still committed to the cause, but the real issue is not whether Osama bin Laden exists. It is whether anybody listens to him.

Some rational thinking, it seems. Too bad most of Washington will ignore rationality in their blood-thirst.

[Bruce Schneier has some thoughts.]