Robert Pape, a Political Science Professor at the University of Chicago, has completely debunked the idea that terrorism in Iraq is caused by religious fanaticism. Instead, it is caused by much more secular objectives such as attempting to drive foreign occupying forces out of a country.
Pape also debunks the notion that terrorists are recruited from the margins of society; instead, they are middle-class people like you and me. Many of them committed acts of violence for their first and only time by blowing things up. He derived his conclusions after compiling a database of every suicide bombing that happened since 1980. He also was able to obtain a demographic profile of over 450 Iraqis who decided to become suicide bombers.
So, if our country decides to invade Iran, our forces could be the target of even more suicide bombings. Iran has a disproportionate number of people aged 15-35, which would mean an even higher rate of bombings than is happening in Iraq.
In other findings:
–95% of suicide attacks occur because of large organizations and significant public support.
–Even a religious group like Al-Qaeda has a secular objective: Drive America out of the Middle East. So Bush was wrong when he said Bin Laden attacked us because he hated freedom.
–Despite our “official” policy of not negotiating with terrorists, even the US has made significant concessions to Bin Laden. Groups like Al-Qaeda blow things up becuase they know it gets results.
I highly recommend Pape’s new book, “Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” because it backs up many of the things Progressives have been saying for years: Colonialism doesn’t work.
