Just search on the internet for Palestinians and suicide bombers. Or look up Hamas. I've read countless articles that have quoted Palestinian parents as saying if they had more kids they would send them to suicide bomb Israel. Pretty sick.
Here's the first item I found when doing my search:
"Suicide bombings have taken various forms. History shows numerous examples of soldiers and others that have resorted to suicide attacks out of sudden desperation, to prevent capture or to relieve a pinned-down unit, often by simply detonating a grenade or other explosive device while holding it near enemy troops.
During the Crusades, the Knights Templar destroyed one of their own ships, killing 140 Christians in order to kill ten times as many Muslims. Another early example of suicide bombing occurred during the Belgian Revolution, when the Dutch Lt. Jan van Speijk detonated his own ship in the harbour of Antwerp to prevent being captured by Belgians. In World War II, kamikaze pilots acted as human missiles, flying their planes, heavily loaded with explosives, directly into enemy warships. Following World War II, Viet Minh "death volunteers" were used against the French colonial army.
The Tamil Tigers are another prolific example, and their Black Tiger unit have committed more than 240 suicide bombings since 1980 [1]. Their victims included former Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi and many prominent Lankan leaders, among them the late PM Ranasinghe Premadasa.
In the Middle East, hundreds of suicide bombings have been undertaken in the last few decades, primarily by Arab men and youths. Multiple Palestinian militant groups have sent specially trained suicide bombers to kill Israelis. The bombers strap themselves with powerful explosives (often mixed with shrapnel) and seek out a target, which may be military but is more commonly civilian. In order to maximise the loss of life, the bombers may seek out cafés or city buses crowded with people at rush hour, or less commonly a military target (for example, soldiers waiting for transport at roadside). By seeking enclosed locations, a successful explosion usually kills a number of people.
Chechen Suicide Bomber at Ryzhskaya subway station, Russia on Aug. 30, 2004Often there is a religious element involved, besides other motives such as politics or blackmail: many suicide bombers believe that they will attain an otherworldly reward for their sacrifice. Those who send suicide bombers on missions cultivate the belief that suicide bombers are martyrs, according to a controversial reading of Islamic teaching. Palestinian television has aired a number of music videos and announcements that promote eternal reward for children who seek "shahada" [2], which Palestinian Media Watch has claimed is "Islamic motivation of suicide terrorists".[3] The Chicago Tribune has documented the concern of Palestinian parents that their children are encouraged to take part in suicide operations.[4] Israeli sources have also alleged that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah operate "Paradise Camps," training children as young as 11 to become suicide bombers. [5][6]
Besides the religious aspect, there is also a simple cost-benefit analysis that motivates suicide bombing. Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri expresses this view clearly: "The method of martyrdom operation [is] the most successful way of inflicting damage against the opponent and the least costly to the mujahidin in terms of casualties" [7].
Military historians classify suicide bombing as a form of armed violence, belonging to the tactics of asymmetric warfare -- suicide bombings are only common when one side in a violent conflict lacks the means for effective, conventional attacks. However in the situation of many suicide bombings, the attacks are carried out against civilians rather than military targets, depriving the tactic of any legitimacy in the eyes of many.
en.wikipedia.org |
