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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GST who wrote (115158)	9/18/2003 3:27:57 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

The Japanese had their own motivation -- but there was an element of desperation to be sure, a sense that all would soon be lost, and so they were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country. True, but I think you would agree that it would be too simplistic to say "think how desperate conditions must have been for the kamikazes to kill themselves". Their government urged this self-sacrifice upon them for the good of the empire, and they responded. After all, many of them came from good samurai families and were not "desperate" in any ordinary personal sense. ...just like most of the suicide bombers. That's why I have little patience with the "think how desperate" explanation of suicide bombing. Hamas and Arafat thought up suicide bombing as a tactic of war, saw it was effective, and have done everything in their power to glorify it with religious trappings and urge young men (not their own sons, however) to follow the example of the glorious "martyrs". Not one of the suicide bombers acted alone. Nor were they "desperate" in a personal sense; indeed, Hamas proudly says that they will refuse any candidate whom they consider suicidal in the usual sense. That wouldn't be proper martyrdom, you see.