Gerald writes:

> I think it is time we realize the implications when we refer to these
>  religious radicals as "suicide bombers". That term carries connotations of
a
>  person sacrificing themselves for a worthy cause. Since when is killing
>  innocent people a worthy cause? Even the much debated Koran says that
>  innocent people are off limits for revenge.
>  We need to call a spade a spade. These misguided people are without a doubt
>  "Homicide Bombers".
>  They are in the eyes of any religion, murders and will be judged as such by
>  whatever higher being they believe in.

It's also important to realize that the term "Homicide Bombers" is an overt
recent attempt by the Israeli government to try to gain back some sense of
momentum in world public opinion.

Nonetheless "suicide bombers" is the more accurate term, and for all
practical purposes the Palestinian situation recapitulates with some accuracy
the suicide bombers that Japan felt that it had to employ at the end of World
War II as well. Three thousand young men, 17 to 25, were given anywhere from
three days to two weeks worth of flying training, strapped a bomb on their
belly, and went out to hunt the enemy.

No nation would use such a process unless it felt that it had no choice. Nor
would ordinary young men and women volunteer for such a mission unless they
felt that their deaths would do more for their people than their lives. The
Israeli policy towards the Palenstinians has been one of purposeful
humiliation, subjugation, and legalized theft for 40 years now. In that
context, the Palestinian response is no more or less than what should have
been expected.

Will suicide bombing work? Probably not on the long-term, but it is the only
response left open to the Palestinians, given the great asymmetries in
military power that exist between the Palestinians and the Israelis. But it
is obviously working in the short-term. Israel's vaunted military is
powerless to stop it. The only solution is political, a national policy of
generosity and compassion towards the Palestinians, rather than continued
military and legal oppression, but I have seen nothing about one successive
Israeli government after another that gives me any reason for hope.

The Japanese were able to recruit 3000 volunteer suicide bombers. It's often
been said that if they had begun the kamikaze flights six to twelve months
earlier, they may well have been able to stop the American fleet, given the
natural advantages that a suicide pilot has over a regular combat aircraft.

Although Palestine must draw its volunteers from a much smaller population,
if the situation remains as it is now, I have no doubt that they too could
muster 3000 suicide bombers as well. A great many of the suicide bombers have
not been "fanatics", rather they have been young men and women who have
simply had enough, and that's the great threat to Israel. You can't fight
such deep seated bitterness with more oppression.

Wirt Atmar

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