interesting interview on fox
Fox n' Friends were interviewing Robert Pape, author of "Dying to Win :the strategic logic of terrorism"
they obviously thought he was going to support their right wing stereotypical views on terrorism. which is why they didnt interrupt his answers. However he refuted each and evey one of their beliefs.
Paraphrased the interview went something like this.
Fox n Friends (FF): Suicide bombers (SB's) are so disenfranchised and hopeless that they kill themselves becuase of a vague promise of the afterlife. why?
Robert Pape (RP): No most SB's are middle class,educated and politicaly aware. Hence they are very angry at policies they feel they cannot change by any other means.
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FF: But in 9/11 werent sucide bombers weak willed individuals manipulated by charismatic leaders like Atta ? "Arent they Sheep" (Actual phrase)
RP: It was previously thought so but wrong. Most SB's are walk in volunteers who join only a few months or even weeks before attack. Not weakwilled but opposite -strong willed, stubborn, aggressive individuals. Most ARE NOT subject to years of coercion or brain washing.
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FF: They complain about the occupation but WE get no credit for the good things we do (Bosnia, stopping Saddam)
RP: true , but remember the driving factor is the occupation, that's the cause of the anger. I recommend withdrawal from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait in 2-3 years
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FF: Arent SB's a fringe segment of society- radical fundamentalist and thus limited.
RP. Unfortunately NO limit. SB's are Demand Driven. As long occupation exists it will cause the number of SB's to GROW.
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FF: Even if we withdrew they wouldnt stop.
RP :Actually in all the situations I have researched , once the various occupations stopped the anger needed for SB's dried up as well. They still hated us but reason for suicide bombings was gone. I reccommend withdrawal as soon as possible.
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Man. that was good. and the Fox Friends were so caught off guard they didnt know how to respond. We need to read this guys book. My guess is it has ammunition we can use to debunk a lot of sterotypes.
Also some observations- note that Fox needs to protray the SB's as hopeless sheep...the needto dehumanize the enemy. What I thought espcially interesting was the need to have them described as a limited hoping that eventually they'll just run out of suicide bombers. They must be getting nervous about the idea of perpetual war.
Finally note the idea of Personality driven politics/history. It must be the result of a evil villain . They cant really hate us. They must be sheep following a EVIL leader. The current brand of conservative hold great stock in personality cults....that idea of policy or goal oriented movements (ie YANKEE GO HOME) is not one that they understand.