“It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country” said the Roman poet Horace, who died in his villa. September 11 and the continuing Israel conflict may have put them in the spotlight, but suicide attacks are nothing new. They have always garnered a mixed reaction: martyrs for your cause were typically admired (if not always emulated) while martyrs on the other side were seen as wild-eyed fanatics. Still, the suicide attack remains the last refuge of the desperate. Although they may seem like a horrendous waste of life, suicide attacks actually make very efficient use of limited resources. A wide-eyed teenager armed with an explosive belt becomes a targeted missile capable of killing dozens. Soldiers who wish to survive are less effective than those who cares nothing for their lives, and a dead combatant cannot be interrogated. Perhaps most important, however, is the fear inspired by suicide attackers. Suicide attacks are terrorism in the truest sense of the word: they are intended to demoralize the enemy and demonstrate your unbreakable will. What follows is a brief history of suicide attacks and their perpetrators. Some of these are famous, other notorious: all can help us to understand the mindset of those willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.
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| The Sicari (Israel
66-73) |
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