Suicide bombing

A suicide bombing is an attack using a bomb in which the individual(s) carrying the explosive materials composing the bomb intend(s) and expect(s) to die upon detonation (see suicide).

Overview

Military historians classify suicide bombing as a form of armed violence, belonging to the tactics of asymmetric warfare -- suicide bombings are only common when one side in a violent conflict lacks the means for effective, conventional attacks. The cost-benefit analysis, expressed here by Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, is simple: "The method of martyrdom operation the most successful way of inflicting damage against the opponent and the least costly to the mujahidin in terms of casualties" http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/ayman_bk.html. The strategic rationale may be military, political, or both; the target may be military, in which case the bombing is usually classified as an act of war, or civilian, in which case it is usually considered terrorism. Civilians are the favored targets, being easier to attack than fortified installations, armored vehicles, or armed and wary soldiers. The political message of the suicide bomber's dedication and fearlessness is potent, and the difficulty of deterring an attacker who is willing to die sparks greater fear than other forms of terrorism. The regular targeting of civilians, however, often calls into question the moral legitimacy, and often erodes the broader credibility, of the bomber's cause (although in some of the perpetrating group's base population, it may enhance those qualities).

Related Topics:
Violence - Asymmetric warfare - Cost-benefit analysis - Al Qaeda - Ayman al-Zawahiri - Mujahidin

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The bombers themselves are for the most part young men (female suicide bombers are rare except among the Tamil Tigers and the Kurdistan Workers Party) from middle-class backgrounds in countries with little political freedom. They are usually well-educated and hold strong political or religious beliefs; they are generally not poverty-stricken or mentally ill, though some may have had difficult childhoods. The ritualistic communion of the extremist groups to which they belong ("lone wolf" suicide bombers are unknown), in addition to their strongly-held beliefs, helps motivate their decision to commit suicide; for the religious, e.g. Hamas, the rewards of an afterlife may provide additional impetus. Coercion and deception are occasionally factors.

Related Topics:
Female suicide bomber - Kurdistan Workers Party - Hamas - Afterlife

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Suicide attacks throughout history have taken various forms and have been encouraged by the lionization of those who laid down their lives for causes they deemed righteous. There are numerous examples, from Samson's suicidal destruction of a Philistine temple (as recounted in the Book of Judges) to the legendary Swiss hero Arnold von Winkelried to the Japanese kamikaze pilots of World War II. The first modern suicide bombing—involving explosives deliberately carried to the target either on the person or in a civilian vehicle and delivered by surprise—was in 1981; perfected by the factions of the Lebanese Civil War and especially by the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, the tactic had spread to dozens of countries by 2005. Those hardest-hit were Lebanon during its civil war, Sri Lanka during its prolonged ethnic conflict, Israel and the Palestinian Territories since 1994, and Iraq since the invasion of 2003.

Related Topics:
Samson - Book of Judges - Arnold von Winkelried - Kamikaze - World War II - Lebanese Civil War - Tamil Tigers - Sri Lanka - Lebanon - Its prolonged ethnic conflict - Israel - Palestinian Territories - Iraq - Invasion of 2003

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Responses and reactions to suicide bombings are mixed, so that a full assessment of the action's impact—especially whether it helped or hindered the cause in whose name it was carried out—is difficult. The public response of politicians is usually one of determination and condemnation. Military and law enforcement are mobilized to disrupt or destroy the organization which planned the attack or, in Israel, to punish the families of bombers. Those who support the bomber's cause will often hold him up as a hero; militant Islamist groups like Al Qaeda, for example, lionize suicide bombers as Shahid, or 'martyr'.

Related Topics:
Punish the families - Al Qaeda

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The term dates back to the 1940s, when it was used in reference to certain German and Japanese battle tactics, but did not gain its present meaning until 1981. Various alternate terms have been used to frame the act differently: the Islamist use of shahid for the bomber or martyrdom operation for the bombing emphasize the self-sacrificial aspects, while the term "homicide bombing" (preferred phraseology of the George W. Bush Administration and right-leaning media outlets such as the News Corporation) emphasizes the fact that the bomber kills others.

Related Topics:
Frame - Martyrdom operation - George W. Bush - News Corporation

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