Dying to Win
The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism
Robert Pape
- Suicide
- terrorism
- is
- rising
- around
- the
- world,
- but
- there
- is
- great
- confusion
- as
- to
- why.
- In
- this
- paradigm-shifting
- analysis,
- University
- of
- Chicago
- political
- scientist
- Robert
- Pape
- has
- collected
- groundbreaking
- evidence
- to
- explain
- the
- strategic,
- social,
- and
- individual
- factors
- responsible
- for
- this
- growing
- threat.One
- of
- the
- world’s
- foremost
- authorities
- on
- the
- subject,
- Professor
- Pape
- has
- created
- the
- first
- comprehensive
- database
- of
- every
- suicide
- terrorist
- attack
- in
- the
- world
- from
- 1980
- until
- today.
- With
- striking
- clarity
- and
- precision,
- Professor
- Pape
- uses
- this
- unprecedented
- research
- to
- debunk
- widely
- held
- misconceptions
- about
- the
- nature
- of
- suicide
- terrorism
- and
- provide
- a
- new
- lens
- that
- makes
- sense
- of
- the
- threat
- we
- face.FACT:
- Suicide
- terrorism
- is
- not
- primarily
- a
- product
- of
- Islamic
- fundamentalism.FACT:
- The
- world’s
- leading
- practitioners
- of
- suicide
- terrorism
- are
- the
- Tamil
- Tigers
- in
- Sri
- Lanka–a
- secular,
- Marxist-Leninist
- group
- drawn
- from
- Hindu
- families.FACT:Ninety-five
- percent
- of
- suicide
- terrorist
- attacks
- occur
- as
- part
- of
- coherent
- campaigns
- organized
- by
- large
- militant
- organizations
- with
- significant
- public
- support.FACT:Every
- suicide
- terrorist
- campaign
- has
- had
- a
- clear
- goal
- that
- is
- secular
- and
- political:
- to
- compel
- a
- modern
- democracy
- to
- withdraw
- military
- forces
- from
- the
- territory
- that
- the
- terrorists
- view
- as
- their
- homeland.FACT:
- Al-Qaeda
- fits
- the
- above
- pattern.
- Although
- Saudi
- Arabia
- is
- not
- under
- American
- military
- occupation
- per
- se,
- one
- major
- objective
- of
- al-Qaeda
- is
- the
- expulsion
- of
- U.S.
- troops
- from
- the
- Persian
- Gulf
- region,
- and
- as
- a
- result
- there
- have
- been
- repeated
- attacks
- by
- terrorists
- loyal
- to
- Osama
- bin
- Laden
- against
- American
- troops
- in
- Saudi
- Arabia
- and
- the
- region
- as
- a
- whole.FACT:
- Despite
- their
- rhetoric,
- democracies–including
- the
- United
- States–have
- routinely
- made
- concessions
- to
- suicide
- terrorists.
- Suicide
- terrorism
- is
- on
- the
- rise
- because
- terrorists
- have
- learned
- that
- it’s
- effective.In
- this
- wide-ranging
- analysis,
- Professor
- Pape
- offers
- the
- essential
- tools
- to
- forecast
- when
- some
- groups
- are
- likely
- to
- resort
- to
- suicide
- terrorism
- and
- when
- they
- are
- not.
- He
- also
- provides
- the
- first
- comprehensive
- demographic
- profile
- of
- modern
- suicide
- terrorist
- attackers.
- With
- data
- from
- more
- than
- 460
- such
- attackers–including
- the
- names
- of
- 333–we
- now
- know
- that
- these
- individuals
- are
- not
- mainly
- poor,
- desperate
- criminals
- or
- uneducated
- religious
- fanatics
- but
- are
- often
- well-educated,
- middle-class
- political
- activists.More
- than
- simply
- advancing
- new
- theory
- and
- facts,
- these
- pages
- also
- answer
- key
- questions
- about
- the
- war
- on
- terror:•
- Are
- we
- safer
- now
- than
- we
- were
- before
- September
- 11?
•
- Was
- the
- invasion
- of
- Iraq
- a
- good
- counterterrorist
- move?
•
- Is
- al-Qaeda
- stronger
- now
- than
- it
- was
- before
- September
- 11?Professor
- Pape
- answers
- these
- questions
- with
- analysis
- grounded
- in
- fact,
- not
- politics,
- and
- recommends
- concrete
- ways
- for
- today’s
- states
- to
- fight
- and
- prevent
- terrorist
- attacks.
- Military
- options
- may
- disrupt
- terrorist
- operations
- in
- the
- short
- term,
- but
- a
- lasting
- solution
- to
- suicide
- terrorism
- will
- require
- a
- comprehensive,
- long-term
- approach–one
- that
- abandons
- visions
- of
- empire
- and
- relies
- on
- a
- combined
- strategy
- of
- vigorous
- homeland
- security,
- nation
- building
- in
- troubled
- states,
- and
- greater
- energy
- independence.For
- both
- policy
- makers
- and
- the
- general
- public,
- Dying
- to
- Win
- transcends
- speculation
- with
- systematic
- scholarship,
- making
- it
- one
- of
- the
- most
- important
- political
- studies
- of
- recent time.
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