posted on Dec, 31 2008 @ 08:43 AM
Honestly, not to condone suicide bombings, I think the situation has less to do with religion than it does with circumstance. Suicide bombing is a
tactic of last resort, an admission of inferior military capability. No military in the world, regardless of religion, will partake in such activity
if it had the most advanced stand off weapon systems at its disposal. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria etc..., all Islamic nations, but you wont see SB's
as part of their official military plans. Now, neutralize their weaponry and threaten their existence and things will change. Case and point, the
Japanese in WWII.
I'm not a believer of faith by any means, however it seems to me any of the monotheistic religions can be manipulated for such holy war purposes.
Semantics aside, some of the Crusades were essentially suicide missions, but I'm sure they weren't called that. And really, how different is a
Palestinian who commits a suicide bombing from an Israeli who might be willing to die in defense for his country? Superficial differences aside there
really is no difference in mentality, only in physical circumstance.
Now, the big difference is going after soft civilian targets instead of military personnel. However that too, in part, has to do with capability and
circumstance. Even the most fanatic insurgents in Iraq prefer IED's and other weapons that target US troops over the above mentioned situation.
[edit on 31-12-2008 by WestPoint23]