shotbanner.jpeg

July 13, 2005

Good Sign?

At the end of World War II, the Japanese - out of oil, fuel, industrial base, and the elite pilots and officers with whom they'd started the war, who'd been killed off over three years of brutal combat with the US, British and Chinese - turned to the only thing they had left - a huge population indoctrinated since birth in a religio-political worldview that glorified death for the "greater good". Suicide submarines, motor boats, divers, rocket planes, and of course the horrendous Kamikaze all made their appearances, with varying degrees of success (motorboats and human-guided torpedos sank a single ship; Kamikaze planes sank dozens and killed thousands of American sailors). Had an invasion of the Japanese home islands been necessary, it's likely we'd have seen more varieties of the suicide warrior; some of the permutations looked eerily like the suicide bombers of the West Bank and, we learned yesterday, London:

The four young men who carried out the London terror attacks were British-born suicide bombers, police sources have told Sky News.

At a minimum, it is "highly likely" one of the Tube attackers died in the strikes on the Underground network.

Police have stopped short of saying publicly Britain had suffered its first suicide strike, but Sky News correspondent Martin Brunt said senior anti-terror police were working on the assumption the men were British-born suicide bombers and had died in the blasts.

The thing is, suicide bombers are not a sign of strength. They're a sign that "this is the best we can do; we need to use our brainwashed people as our weapons guidance systems".

Horriffic? Absolutely.

A sign that the war on terror is going badly, or that the war in Iraq was a mistake?

Hardly. It'd be analogous to saying "The Marianas Turkey Shoot was responsible for the kamikaze campaign." True, as far as it goes, but not the whole story.

Posted by Mitch at July 13, 2005 05:15 AM | TrackBack
Comments

P.J. O'Rourke put it well...

"But, as frightening as terrorism is, it's the weapon of losers. The minute somebody sets off a suicide bomb, you can be sure that person doesn't have "career prospects." And no matter how horrendous a terrorist attack is, it's still conducted by losers. Winners don't need to hijack airplanes. Winners have an Air Force."

Posted by: Nordeaster at July 13, 2005 10:34 AM

If the same thing ever happens in the US (God forbid a thousand times) I would not be surprised to find out that the suicide bombers are American-born converts to radical Islam. These suicide bombers are somewhat self-selecting.

Posted by: RBMN at July 13, 2005 12:10 PM

Just think of them as "terminally guided munitions."

Posted by: David S. Cargo at July 13, 2005 04:17 PM

Tell your theory about suicide bombers to the Israelis. Would you like to US troops to stay in Iraq as long as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has been going on ? It might also be prudent to remember that suicide bombers have already attacked the US, on 9/11. Desparation can be a lethal weapon. Don't underestimate it.

Posted by: Phil at July 13, 2005 11:51 PM

Phil, you basically reinforced his point. The Palestinians have been 'fighting' Israel for thirty years and have gotten nowhere on their own. It's only through intense international pressure that there is any sort of withdrawal from the Gaza occuring today. I'm not sure how else you'd define 'loser'.

Posted by: Michael Lomker at July 14, 2005 09:44 AM

You're right, the Palestinians haven't won. But then again neither have the Israelis. They're still being blown up. While suicide bombers are not a sign of an insurgency capable of vanquishing a substantial military force neither are they a certain signal that the end of a military conflict is just around the corner. They've managed to kill quite a few US troops over the past year and despite Vice-president Cheney's assertions it doesn't seem like they are destined to disappear any time soon. It seems as if the administration is determined to keep chasing Brer Rabbit into the briar patch. Or rather, unfortunately for US troops, they seem determined to make our military play there. I don't see what purpose it serves to play "nyah nyah you're a dork" with people who really don't give a crap what we think of them. After two years of hearing comments like "bring 'em on" and "mission accomplished" its wearing a little thin.

Posted by: Phil at July 15, 2005 03:06 AM

Good ideas and suggestions about pet treats and products - http://www.pet-treats.info

Posted by: Pet Treats at December 4, 2005 05:31 AM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?
hi