Hamas' "suicide bombers" during a demonstration in GazaWhat Triggers The Suicide Bomber -- L.A. Times
Foreign occupation, not religious fervor, is the primary motivation behind this form of terrorism.
On Oct. 23, 1983, a suicide bomber drove a truck laden with explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Marines as they slept. This dark chapter of American history was one of the country's first experiences with suicide attack since the Japanese kamikaze pilots during World War II. The attack, combined with the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut that April and a sustained terrorism campaign waged by the group that came to be known as Hezbollah, was a major reason President Reagan ordered American forces to leave Lebanon in 1984.
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My Comment: I am somewhat skeptical on the author's observation that ' foreign occupation, not religious fervor", is the primary motivation for suicide bombings. I have been watching and commenting on conflicts and wars for a very long time .... this blog included .... and one thing that I have always noticed is that suicide and martyrdom has somehow become a dominant theme in one religion. Foreign occupation may be a factor in becoming a suicide bomber, but religion is what gives the suicide bomber the "moral and spiritual" reason to conduct himself/herself in this manner .... and the religion that is utilizing this concept to the extreme (in today's world) is Islam.