/32/ - Psychopolitics

Very interesting article.

We often fail at comprehending cultural events because we analyze them from a logical perspective, especially those related to religion. On the case of suicide bombings, we make the opposite mistake, we assume they happen because the individuals live in a culture that is naturally propense to make use of such tactics. The truth is quite simpler, in order to make a smart bomb you just use the formula: bomb+smarts=smart bomb. It is a purely logical decision, even though there is a cultural and psychological aspect to the process and to the conflict itself.

Another quite logical aspect are the technological constraints under which these groups operate. Over the past century, human beings have been slowly replaced by machines in nearly every area including, of course, the military. Thus, it is not only understandable but evident that groups with restricted access to technology and logistics structures in general would use human beings to solve problems that modern military forces use technology to solve. In the far regions of the middle east (which is where these particular groups operate), plows are pulled with horses, bricks are made by hand and money is transferred physically from one individual to another. In such an environment, what choice do they have for making precision-guided munitions other than strap a guide to the munition?

Naturally, there is the matter of the psychological impact of suicide missions in general, which is probably more relevant to the board than the other part of the discussion; but this is only a secondary effect, one that was discovered after suicide bombings were already in place. It served to strengthen their resolve in the use of such tactics, not to sell them the idea.