Human bombs: weapon of 21st century

“Suicide bombers blow themselves up on a bas station… in a market… in a supermarket… in a cafe at lunch time… Three people killed… six people killed… twelve people killed…” We gradually become accustomed to such reports and do not pick them out from other military reports of today. However, it is not clear whether the suicide belt bomber belongs to these victims.

What makes successful Muslim people commit suicide in this way? Why is this phenomenon spreading so fast? There are too many questions, and we cannot neglect the Middle-Eastern issue, because it could become the whole world's problem.

“Everybody has his own bin Laden,” – once said Israeli Prime Minster Sharon. At that time, he could not imagine that the bin Laden suicide bombers will fill the Holy Land, while, in the whole world, there is a danger that suicide bombers could be used everywhere. In the mass media, it the issue of suicide bombers has been discussed many times. However, these opinions are single-valued. A suicide terrorist is said to easily lose his life, because he has nothing to lose. He is very poor and ignorant. A fanatic, afflicted with ideas of world Islamic supremacy and revenge. That could be a poor villager, a drug-addict student, to be short, a person who could be influenced with words about a martyr death for faith.

“…What once was considered a rare, costly gesture involving the intensive recruitment and indoctrination of a human bomb, along with the careful selection of a target worthy of such a scarce resourceb now looks more like an easily replenished weapon,” -David Von Drehle from the Washington Post writes. Now, suicide has become prestigious. Recruiters offered big money, from the Middle-Eastern view. A monthly pension: 600 to 1,000 dollars. Such encouragement and to the opportunity to suffer for faith was, of course, welcomed by religious fanatics. One year ago, there were only single cases. A man blows up himself in a crowded square or in a market – this was an extraordinary phenomenon. This event was discussed for weeks, remembering details.

Now, the situation has changed. Explosions take place almost every day, while Israeli cannot control the flow of suicide bombers. “Analysts said the traditional profile of a suicide bomber has been shattered. Potential bombers are not as hard to find as some experts once believed. Under the right circumstances, bombers require little or no persuasion; in fact, they volunteer. They don't necessarily need constant supervision,” - David Von Drehle writes. Now, the atmosphere is too hot. Islam fanatics want blood so badly that not only poor people, but teachers, doctors and even pregnant women are willing to strap on a bomb without hesitating. Could it be regarded as a sacrifice? Of course, yes. This is a sad fact. For the first time, a person sacrifices his life to aggravate hatred. The war becomes another measure. The history of wars has never known such mass suicide among civilians. Remember the Japanese kamikaze pilots, or legendary Russian solder Alexandr Matrosov, or solders who attacked the enemy in burning tanks. All this took place in war time, while executing a certain military mission.

Even the Israeli mass media admit that terrorism has become a mass sport, a great aspiration for thousands of Palestinian youth. There are no military means to fight against human bombs. This is the weapon of the masses to use with the most perfect pointing system, accessible for human kind.

Indeed, a pregnant woman going along the street cannot be suspected. She herself searches for a target and realizes her plan. The suicide terrorist’s activities have 100 percent success. Therefore, in the future, human bombs will be widely spread. In every country, there is such a place that could became a hotbed of human bombs: Kashmir in India and Chechnya in Russia. While, in America ,hated by the whole world, this is America itself. September 11, the whole country simply looked at the suicide bomber’s attack, which could not be stopped. A single terrorist becomes a Damocles sword of America. He has no face, while this is twice as dangerous. He is not a human being, but a new class of weapon. The conclusion is that people will not find a way until they open their eyes and look up at the sky. Most likely, this is why God allows His creatures to become human bombs.

Natalia Makarova Ivanovo State University

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/06/25/43165.html

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