GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: What makes a Suicide Bomber tick?

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Strategy Page

28July2010 3:55amPDT

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Israel and the United States have collected a lot of information on how Islamic terrorists operate. A lot of this data will remain secret for some time, but new tidbits are made public from time to time. The latest revelation is actually confirmation of many older bits of information. That is, the suicide bombers themselves are usually persuaded, not forced, to carry out their missions.

Israel, for example, has captured at least fifteen suicide bombers who did not (could not or would not) carry out their mission. These terrorists were extensively questioned, as were family and friends. The Israelis also collected similar data on dead suicide bombers, including email or tapped phone calls and other material the bomber left behind. The Israelis, like the suicide bomb organizations, came to the same conclusion; that certain personality traits make someone very willing to carry out these attacks. And the chief characteristic is usually not fanaticism, but deference to authority and public opinion. This is one reason why the� Palestinian media campaign to glamorize suicide bombers is so dangerous.

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