Dying to Win
"Dying to Win" by Robert Pape provides an analysis of suicide terrorism which is grounded in facts not ideological political hyperbole. He has collected evidence to explain the social and individual factors responsible for the growing threat of suicide terrorism.
University of Chicago political scientist Robert Pape has taught international relations at Dartmouth College and air strategy for the U.S Air Force's School of Advanced Airpower Studies. He is considered to be one of the world's foremost authorities on suicide terrorists and has created the first comprehensive database on every terrorist attack in the world during the past 25 years.
He discovered that 95% of suicide terrorist attacks occur as part of coherent campaigns organized by large militant organizations with significant public support. Pape states that every suicide terrorist campaign has had a clear goal that is political and designed to compel a modern democracy to withdraw military forces from the territory that they view as their homeland.
Professor Pape's comprehensive demographic profile of suicide terrorists found that they are not uneducated religious fanatics but often well-educated, middle class political activist. He views the Bush administration as: "embarking on a policy to conquer Muslim countries". This is costing 400 billion dollars a year for military hardware and thousands of troops posted overseas with the only results being more suicide bombers. Obviously, one of al Qaeda's major objectives is the expulsion of U.S. troops from the Persian Gulf.
From these facts; Pape concludes that the military options may disrupt terrorist operations in the short term, but a lasting solution to terrorism will require a comprehensive approach that abandons visions of empire and relies on a combined strategy of vigorous homeland security, nation building of troubled states, and greater energy independence.
We win the war on terror by getting out of the Middle East.
University of Chicago political scientist Robert Pape has taught international relations at Dartmouth College and air strategy for the U.S Air Force's School of Advanced Airpower Studies. He is considered to be one of the world's foremost authorities on suicide terrorists and has created the first comprehensive database on every terrorist attack in the world during the past 25 years.
He discovered that 95% of suicide terrorist attacks occur as part of coherent campaigns organized by large militant organizations with significant public support. Pape states that every suicide terrorist campaign has had a clear goal that is political and designed to compel a modern democracy to withdraw military forces from the territory that they view as their homeland.
Professor Pape's comprehensive demographic profile of suicide terrorists found that they are not uneducated religious fanatics but often well-educated, middle class political activist. He views the Bush administration as: "embarking on a policy to conquer Muslim countries". This is costing 400 billion dollars a year for military hardware and thousands of troops posted overseas with the only results being more suicide bombers. Obviously, one of al Qaeda's major objectives is the expulsion of U.S. troops from the Persian Gulf.
From these facts; Pape concludes that the military options may disrupt terrorist operations in the short term, but a lasting solution to terrorism will require a comprehensive approach that abandons visions of empire and relies on a combined strategy of vigorous homeland security, nation building of troubled states, and greater energy independence.
We win the war on terror by getting out of the Middle East.
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