Rational terrorists?

[Vympel]

I'd appreciate if the article was longer and the sample group was much bigger

[weemadando]

An expert on the psychology of terrorism who spent 20 years in the CIA says suicide bombers are not crazy and are often seen as models of exemplary behaviour in their societies.

Indeed, this is quite often the case where national desperation, combined with social conditions has led to terrorism being the popular option of the people.

Jerrold Post, who founded the CIA's Centre for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behaviour, interviewed 21 Islamic extremists in Israeli and Palestinian prisons.

Only Israel and Palestine? Then in that case the suicide bombers were all quite damn rational.

"We should not think of these individuals as crazed fanatics, as seriously psychiatrically ill," he told the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting on Thursday. "Quite to the contrary, this represents a norm within society, within this society."

Indeed, its a culture of violence where self-sacrifice is touted as being rewarded. And this is on both sides of the conflict.

"Mental illness is incompatible with being a political terrorist," he said. "It is a security risk to have an emotionally unstable individual in your terrorist group just as it would be in the Green Berets."

Well at least someone in the US acknowledges this, maybe now they can spread the news.

Professor Post, who today teaches at George Washington University, said the Palestinian militants he interviewed talked calmly and rationally about their violent acts, including murder.

As they would, its not murder if its conducted on the field of battle, which in this case extends across the entirity of Israel and the occupied territories. Its all a matter of perception.

"These are very normal-sounding individuals who have basically been bred to hate from very early on," he said.

Again, this is not exclusive to the terrorists. How does a young child in the US react to images of arabs nowadays? Have they "learnt" from TV and social interaction that all arabs are terrorists and not to be trusted?

[AdmiralKanos]

Being a suicide bomber does not necessarily mean you must be crazy. If some alien race were running around scooping up all of the world's children for horrifying scientific experiments and the only conceivable attack we could use was suicide bombs, there would be a LOT of rational people strapping bombs on themselves. Obviously, you can afford to point and sneer at the tactic when you have a military advantage and you don't need to consider it as an option.

[Darth Gojira]

Reminds me of how the Japanese turned bloodthirsty in World War two. It's a perfect example of a group being turned insane by oppresion and religious fervor.

[MKSheppard]

Reminds me of Pablo Escobar's campaign of terror in Colombia -
he assassinated 3 out of 5 Presidental candidates in the 1989 election,
and it took Delta Force working with right-wing death squads and
drug lords to kill the guy.

[MKSheppard]

Reminds me of Pablo Escobar's campaign of terror in Colombia -
he assassinated 3 out of 5 Presidental candidates in the 1989 election,
and it took Delta Force working with right-wing death squads and
drug lords to kill the guy.

In fact, that's what Israel should do. For each suicide bombing in Israel,
drop a 2,000 pound Laser Guided Bomb into a crowded Palestinian market
until the Islamokamikazies learn to confine their targets to the IDF and not
the Civilians.

[MKSheppard]

In fact, that's what Israel should do. For each suicide bombing in Israel,
drop a 2,000 pound Laser Guided Bomb into a crowded Palestinian market
until the Islamokamikazies learn to confine their targets to the IDF and not
the Civilians.

For those who might take it the wrong way, this is what happened in Colombia:

Pablo Escobar, the big Cocaine lord of Colombia, he kept running a bombing
campaign, blowing up judges, shooting policeofficers, torturing people to
death, etc etc.

Until a group of right wing paramilitaries, operating on intelligence gathered
by the CIA and US Army that ended up in their hands "somehow"
began to kill and do drive by RPGings of Pablo's own family and
business associates.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

I think it depends on how you define rational. Remember that in the 13th century Islamic beliefs would have been effectively normal, and in general, rather rational. In fact, in the 13th century Islam was pretty rational in comparison with a fair number of other cultures dotting the globe.

Advance to today and you have the same thing - A cultural norm which is rational in the sense that it's internally coherent, but is totally irrational to someone outside that culture. So, yes, the suicide bombers are perfectly rational people. But they're perfectly rational Arab Muslims; these people are then not rational by our definition of the word (which, thanks to the proofs of science, can be considered as rather more definiteively accurate).

[Darth Gojira]

In fact, that's what Israel should do. For each suicide bombing in Israel,
drop a 2,000 pound Laser Guided Bomb into a crowded Palestinian market
until the Islamokamikazies learn to confine their targets to the IDF and not
the Civilians.

For those who might take it the wrong way, this is what happened in Colombia:

Pablo Escobar, the big Cocaine lord of Colombia, he kept running a bombing
campaign, blowing up judges, shooting policeofficers, torturing people to
death, etc etc.

Until a group of right wing paramilitaries, operating on intelligence gathered
by the CIA and US Army that ended up in their hands "somehow"
began to kill and do drive by RPGings of Pablo's own family and
business associates.

So it's a philosophy of "If punched in the gut, punch him in the crotch"? Intriguing.....

[Rye]

The most rational terrorists are ones that use mercenaries, or that are mercenaries, like in DIE HARD.

[Sea Skimmer]

Terrorists can be perfectly rational. But a great many are not.