An interview with a Suicide Bomber

[smoothmoniker]

This just scares the be-jeezus out of me. These are not well formed, rational thoughts. What kind of bankrupt culture glorifies people who would send a child to do this? What kind of culture gives aid and comfort to those who plan and execute such horrors?

We don't talk much about moral parity around here; it's kind of been out of vogue since the "Evil Empire" speech. Maybe it's time to.

-sm

[jaguar]

There was a recent article about how the BBC puts the most pro-israel spin on their news (in the UK), this was no exception. They ran this on BBW with the line 'suicide bomber didn't want to go to school', sure, skip over the minor fact his best mate was wasted by the IDF.

The more and more research I do into the situation (still planning a trip but moved back for uni reasons) the less and less surprised I am by this stuff, the pressure cooker environment the palastinians are living in is utterly insane. I've talked to a number of hacks who have been over there, all of them identify with their plight. Given the desperation, the humiliation, the poverty, the economic backbreaking and sheer difficulty of daily life, there is no surprise here.

[wolf]

If by "hacks" you mean reporters ... how can they provide unbiased reportage if they "identify with their [Palestinians'] plight?" Or is unbiased reporting an american fantasy?

[jaguar]

Being able to seperate personal feelings from your work is a fairly important requirement. However, all reporting is biased, but it's usually the paper and it's owners, not the reporter.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Hussam: The thing is my parents forced me to go to school and I didn't want to go. So I used to go there and run away. Then I had problems with the teachers. The principal took me to the police because I got into a fight with the teachers.

Although the societal pressures Jag spoke of are tough, this kid would be called a juvenile delinquent or hoodum, here. None would be surprised, he got into bigger trouble.
What they offered this kid was a way out, that unlike the other kids around the world that off themselves, promises honor for them and their families.

[jaguar]

In the TV interview he didn't come across as the brightest cookie.

[Undertoad]

The Palestinians put themselves in this condition. They depended on Israel for all the good jobs. Then they restarted the Intifada. They are in a mess right now because their main industry is blowing themselves up and it is a losing industry. The people who put them in this position are the ones in the BBC article who promise to rebuild the kid's family's house and send them money.

Like all societies and nations everywhere, they will only move forward when they stop blaming others for their condition. Allah aside there is no good money in blaming Israel for everything. For a while the EU funded that but these days it's too transparent for them to keep doing so.

[DanaC]

'Tis a mite difficult to conduct a proper economy if the neighbouring state is occupying most of your prime land and building ruddy great walls through your farms

[Undertoad]

Yes, that is a perfect example of blaming others for their condition.

[DanaC]

Thats somewhat akin to calling out the Poles for blaming the Germans for their condition

[jaguar]

Sadly UT, it's nowhere near that simple. First of all, you imply that every palastinian supports the violence, that's a fairly stupid statement to say the least. The PA has all but collapsed internally, it's virtual anarchy. There are a nuber of industrial zones in side both the west bank and th gaza strip, one of the lesser known rammifactions of the pullout is that Israel is shutting down a number of these zones, further worsening the already dire jobs situation. It is also close to impossible for any factories in those zones to export goods thanks to Israeli restrictions making home grown industry a tad difficult. Another issue is farming, Israel often bulldozes olive groves as part of security operations as a punitive measure, sure is constructive stuff. The wall that is now being built also not only cuts many districts in half but cuts many farmers off from their land, this land is in some cases then being used by settlers.

You're poor, to get to work, on the rare occasions you're allowed at all you're sometimes forced to strip naked in the street and make animal noises by armed soldiers, your house has been demolished for being in the wrong place, your brother was shot for looking out a window during an IDF raid and an uzi-weilding settler gang beat the shit out of your grandfather in the middle of the street and burned off in a car yelling that mohammed was a shoe. Your uncle used to own an amusement park but the IDF established a watchtower nearby and proceeded to destroy all the rides with sniper fire. All of these have happened, over and over and over. How would you react? How would you feel?

You want to talk about state sponsered terrorism? Talk about 3 billions dollars work of US military aid. Talk to the husband of a pregnant woman who was killed when a IDF solider on patrol slipped on the trigger. Talk to the mother of a daughter who had her head blown off by a paranoid solider during a raid.

What would you do? You can't get a job, you can't start a business, you can't even walk down the street safely.

[Griff]

Let's just nuke them both!

[Undertoad]

Yet more examples.

If the Pals announced tomorrow that they were ending suicide bombing at the top levels, they would have a state by 2005 and the wall down by 2007 and you know it. As it is, the wall is the only thing that has worked and the world is unhappy that snipers can't kill little Jewish children any longer. Well my fucking sympathies. Terror doesn't work let's try something else.

[DanaC]

"If the Pals announced tomorrow that they were ending suicide bombing at the top levels, they would have a state by 2005 "

Again the assumption that the Palestinians have some sort of coherent and unified command structure. If Arafat announced tomorrow that all suicide bombing would end, he'd be made a liar within 2 days.

[jaguar]

jesus you don't get it do you? How do you organize a truce where there is no authority and hundreds of splintered groups? Seriously, it's close to impossible, the entire region has been plunged into such depression there is no functioning government, there's no police force that can magically reign in the militants. Even if one groups holds a truce(and they have tried), others don't and the army uses it as an excuse to launch more inflammatory raids which only serve to destroy whatever fragile moves there were towards peace.

There are no 'top levels', there is no central command, the PA couldn't run a bath, let alone reign in militant cells that have survived the IDF for decades against their will.

let me turn your little argument around so you can see how silly it looks.
Imagine if Osama made a speech tomorrow saying they would lay off America and instead start working for political reform in the middle east though peaceful means if every simple American didn't say anything nasty about Islam tomorrow. Would that be reasonable? Or would that be laughed at?

Boy wouldn't it suck if one hardline asshole blew it for everyone and the enemy refused to recognise that