Suicide Bombers can Only Be Stopped by Attacking the Networks

By Douglas Farah

There has been much written recently about the inability to halt young suicide bombers because of their willingness to die for their cause. It is one of the greatest difficulties facing forces on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But, as the Times of London points out in graphic detail, the bombers are the end product of network of radicalization that includes the religious teachings of respected imams around the world.

It is true that it is virtually impossible to halt the actual suicide bomber on his mission. But there are vulnerabilities in the network that create these human weapons. These areas can be far more easily attacked than the final product.

As Bob Baer, formerly of the CIA, recently wrote,, there is little defense against these "children of death."

As Baer points out, "this is an ideological battle that will be won, or lost, at the local mosque, at the family dinner table or between friends across the Islamic world. Suicide bombing will be defeated not by a gun or a fancy scanner but by the religious principles of Koran itself."

(I am not sure of the final statement, because these principles are not broadly articulated across the Muslim world, but perhaps they could be.)

There are several noteworthy statements in the piece on suicide bombers, in addition to the chill one gets at the thought of the deliberate recruitment of young men to kill themselves in the belief that they are doing Allah's will and that he will reward them generously. Here are a few that highlight the NETWORK aspect of the phenomenon. My full blog is here.

TrackBack