>>"The intention", hmm.. There is also the very possibly outcome that he might die fighting for his country, right?<<
Of course that is right. However, the fact remains the expectation in the western world is for their soldiers to come back alive.
>>The point is that if 18 is an age old enough to lay your life down for your country on one side, it is hypocrytical to condemn the other side because they "use children" in their armed attacks.<<
The point is that 18 years olds on one side risk their life for their country, however, that is 180 degrees from the philosophy of knowingly intending to kill themselves based upon prior training. US soldiers do not strap dynamite around themselves and set it off with the intention of dying.
>>Now, I realize that the odds of coming back alive are much thinner on the Palestinian side.<<
What odds are you referring to? If they succeed in their mission, they can not come back alive. That is 100% certain.
>>Re age matters, it might also help to remember that a teenager in the US is not the same thing as a teenager in the Middle East, where an 18 year old girl or guy could very well be married with a child or two on their side, fully expected to be an adult and supporting his/her family.<<
These 18 year olds in the M.E. get indoctrinated early in life that it is a good thing to die, as it prepares them for doing the real thing at 18 with a dynamite pack on their back. It is sick Zonder. There is no middle ground here. And if that is acceptable in the culture, then the culture has serious problems. As a society in the 21st century, who else practices this? Oh yea, the Chechens in Russia, and they have similar belief systems, although not to that extent I think. |
