Suicide: desperation or an act of war (cont'd)

skadi had a comment on my previous post which deserves more visibility... i had made the following statement...

what drives human beings to take their own lives, whether it be through suicide bombing or just plain suicide, is desperation...

skadi's comment...

On this point, I will vehemently disagree. The suicide bomber operating from some mistaken belief that he is doing a righteous thing, will be considered a martyr by those left behind and is going on to his/her heavenly reward cannot be at all compared or equated with the gray, no change in sight, no hope view of the lone person driven to take their own life.

Though one need not have experienced these feelings to know the difference, I do speak from personal knowledge. Please reconsider your statement.

consider it reconsidered... and, in support of skadi's point, i offer the following from nir rosen...

But in death Zarqawi struck one final blow for his cause. He had come to Iraq to fight the infidels and become a martyr, gaining entry to paradise. And so he did, the infidels finally killed him and his supporters now believe he is in paradise. This only proves that Iraq is the place to go to if you want to gain entry to paradise, kill infidels, and become a martyr. More will flock to replace him and avenge him.

i suppose this could well be true of the suicides at guantanamo... however, while i certainly can't put myself in their shoes, i can only imagine the desperation that must have been a constant plague after four years in gitmo with no end in sight...

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