Can suicide terrorism be stopped?

[stumble biscuit]

Some media reports have speculated that suicide bombers take drugs before they go on their missions, but this would run contrary to the strict religious teachings they adhere to.

They are likely to be motivated by religious fervour.

According to Islamic tradition, he who gives his life for an Islamic cause will have his sins forgiven and a place reserved in paradise.

For many years, suicide attacks on Israelis have been seen by some Palestinians as just such acts of martyrdom.

Recruits are reassured by their organisation that their families will be looked after materially until they die, and there are charitable organisations that exist for this purpose.

Recruits are picked out from mosques, schools and religious institutions. They are likely to have shown particular dedication to the principles of Islam, and are singled out for deeper study.

Gradually, they get more involved in political issues, and are taught the rewards that will await them if they sacrifice their lives.

Eventually, many of them will volunteer for a suicide mission, hoping for greater glory.

They will spend less and less time with their families and devote themselves to religious study and spiritual preparation. They are sent out with just a day or two's notice on how and where to blow themselves up.

-BBC News

October 23, 1983, was one of the most horrific days in the history of modern terrorism. Two massive explosions destroyed the barracks of the U.S. and French contingents of the multinational peacekeeping force in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 American servicemen and 58 French paratroopers. Both explosions were carried out by Muslim extremists who drove to the heart of the target area and detonated bombs with no intention of escaping.

Two centuries of experience suggested that terrorists, though ready to risk their lives, wished to live after the terrorist act in order to benefit from its accomplishments. But this new terrorism defied that belief. It seemed qualitatively different, appearing almost supernatural, extremely lethal, and impossible to stop. Within six months, French and U.S. Presidents François Mitterrand and Ronald Reagan pulled their troops out of Lebanon-a tacit admission that the new terrorism rendered all known counterterrorist measures useless. Government officials erected concrete barriers around the White House and sealed the Pentagon's underground bus tunnels. Nobody was reassured. As Time magazine skeptically observed in 1983: "No security expert thinks such defensive measures will stop a determined Islamic terrorist who expects to join Allah by killing some Americans."

-www.foreignpolicy.com

And this just recently stated by Taliban/Al Quaeda:

"The plan is going ahead and, God willing, it is being implemented, but it is a huge task that is beyond the comprehension of human beings. If God's help is with us this will happen within a short period of time.

"Keep in mind this prediction. The real matter is the extinction of America."

-Mullah Muhammad Omar


How many Suicide Bombers are living in America right now awaiting orders do you suppose? Or worse yet, how many Suicide Bioterrorists are here waiting to infect themselves and then start getting on subways and walking along crowded city streets coughing and sneezing on people they pass?

I've read where several people are suggesting new laws that will allow governments to execute entire remaining families of suicide terrorists to help thwart the readiness of the suicide terrorist since they themselves are so willing to die hoping that this law will make future suicide terrorists think twice before carrying through with their orders. What do you think?

 

[s4]

I agree that those who are willing to sacrifice their own lives to carry out terrorism are the most difficult. The only thing we can really do is try to prevent these acts before they occur. I think our leaders and law enforcement are doing what they can, but there are so many ways for people from other countries to sneak into the US. Short of closing our borders, I don't see that they can be kept out. Closing the borders would not keep people like Timothy McVeigh from doing things like he did.

I still believe McVeigh was part of a larger organization and he did not act alone. He was loyal to this group whoever they were to the very end.

The big problem with terrorism is that these people have money and the means to carry out their plans. If they were acting alone, they wouldn't necessarily have the finances and materials they require.

I don't know that terrorism can be put an end to, but preventiveness and alertness are required to keep if from esculating. Finding Bin Laden is a step in the right direction, but Saddam Hussien will have to be dealt with sometime in the future. I read that Hussien is trying to get a nuclear program underway.

 

[stumble biscuit]

S4, I too think, saddam, the Butcher of Baghdad is the man to get. He is an evil, evil man with a deep rooted hatred of America in general and any man with the last name of Bush in particular. He tortured American POW from Desert Storm, used electric drills in some instances. He murdered his country's own fleeing women and children. He killed thousands of his own people with chemicals. He used Sports Arenas for mass execution grounds. To date he is responsible for 100,000 deaths give or take.

He is still in charge of that country even though he should have already been executed for his thousands of known atrocities against mankind. He has most likely exceeded and replenished his supply of mass destruction weapons since Desert Storm and is even more dangerous than before and he's getting antsy. Just last week there have been instances of Iraqi soldiers firing rifles and on one occasion, a mortar round into kuwait I believe it was. He practically begs US warplanes to fly into his airspace now. He wants to fight us.

Then there is the islamic fundamentalist government of Iran...

Just recently Iran has had a serial murderer killing female prositutes and drug addicts and the government's islamic law seems to see the righteousness in the acts. 22 women tossed in ditches. Iran's version of Islamic Law states that if the killer can prove his victims were "unworthy" of the blood running through their veins, he has committed no crime in killing them. How can a government like that be dealt with? I know Christians have done some crazy shit in the name of religion, but most have chilled since around the time it became apparent the earth wasn't flat. Some of these governments and peoples in the middle-east are still being led by insanely fanatical leaders who value life to be no more worthy than that of a day old newspaper.

The world is upside down over there and I have a bad feeling that thousands more Americans, including perhaps even you or I or someone we know are in very grave danger of being killed at any given moment. I think its going to happen before this is over. I even believe the U.S. government silently thinks that too, but what can they really do about it? lately I've come to suspect the real Evil is really saddam, bin laden is just along for the ride, but saddam is going to be the one to get.

...until the next Butcher of Baghdad pops into existence.

But hey! Have a good weekend

 

[Gonzo]

In direct answering to your main question,

Can suicide terrorism be stopped?

NO, never, absolutely not. There have been, and will always continue to be, those amongst us that, whether by terrorism, rape, genocide, suicide, mass & individual murder and many others, have the desire to harm others. We can never stop it, only repress it as long as possible, and upon acting out these violent tendencies-retribute.