For those who have not heard of Robert Pape, or his work, he is a professor at University of Chicago who published a study widely cited by many on with certain political leanings. His study purports to examine suicide bombings from 1980-2004 showing suicide bombing is a tactic against foreign occupation and has nothing to do with religion. He has concluded a majority of suicide bombings have been carried out by the Tamil Tigers, suicide bombers are not globe-trotting terrorists, and bombings are often carried out by educated, middle income members of society. Wikipedia provides a summary of his book, Dying to Win: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Pape#Bombing_to_Win Pape gives a lengthy discussion of his thesis: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/1209/What-really-drives-suicide-terrorists Critics, however, have faulted Pape for misclassifying Islamist suicide bombings, eg., North Africa, as 'unknown, under-reports numbers of suicide attacks by Islamists in Iraq, labels Saudi Arabia as 'occupied' and comparable to Chechnya or Lebanon, and classifies countries not under occupation, eg., Pakistan, as occupied. http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/2005/11/suicide-terrorism-origins-and-response/ What think? Pape says there is little to no link between Islamic fanaticism and suicide bombings, but some of his critics disagree. With which side do you more agree?
And what about Israel ? I am not Islamophobic, but are Judea and Samaria, the cradle of Jewish State "occupied by Israel" ? No more than Castile is "occupied by Spain" ! Fatah, Hamas and their likes don't want "a State" and have never wanted one. Their true goal is a second Holocaust. Arafat and Abbas praised Grand Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini as "hero", "martyr" and "resistance fighter".
