But what of the people who do the suicide bombings? If that's not desperation, it's giving a pretty good imitation of it.
Richard, these are not depressed people committing suicide. These are trained soldiers going to Allah. They do not die in desperation, but in expectation of victory. As the Islamists say over and over, they will win over the West because the West is soft and loves life, while the true Muslim loves death.
Furthermore, not only does ideology sanction the suicide bombing as 'martyrdom', the whole of Palestinian society has been converted to approve it. Palestinian propaganda makes suicide bombing the most honorable of activities.
The bomber's farewell tape is shown on TV, his 'wedding notice' (to the 72 virgins) is published in the paper, Chairman Arafat sends congradulations and money to the family, the neighbors all congradulate the lucky family, and the family themselves announce how proud they are to have a martyr in the family. If they have different feelings, they know to keep them to themselves. Saddam Hussein sends a stipend to the 'martyr's' family; if they were poor before, they will not be in want afterwards.
Family honor is hugely important in the Arab world. Pretty tempting for the poor pious boys of Gaza, who have no other chance of marrying, making a living, or otherwise bringing honor to their families.
The Hamas recruiters troll the mosques, looking for likely candidates. Once they are selected, they go through a training course. They are taken to lie down in an open grave to remove their fear of death. They are shown how to use Hamas explosive belts. It's a regular operation -- not one of these guys has done it on his own. |
