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Suicide AttackBion Doyle Although the term cyborg is more recent than the idea of suicide attack, it is still a very useful descriptive tool. Rather than soldiers simply carrying artificial weapons, suicide bombers use artificial technology to become a weapon themselves. This profoundly changes the perception of the combatant. This altered perception is a direct result of the cyborgian nature of such a system. Without this transformation, much of the fear instilled by suicide attacks would be lost. History:
The age of suicide bombing could not dawn without adequate technology met with a need for such effective weapons. These two factors peaked during World War II when suicide bombing was pioneered by the Japanese. As 1944 wore on, Japan's status in the war was growing weaker and weaker. They had lost several critical naval battles and were on the retreat for the first time during the war. In the summer of 1944, their situation became so desperate that they decided to utilize suicide bombing techniques. These attacks came in two forms. The kamikaze plane was the more well-known and commonly used suicide bombing technique. It was a normal Japanese fighter plane carrying one massive explosive device not meant to be released. The other technique was a Kaiten manned torpedo. This torpedo was larger than average in order to house the pilot as well as the explosives. However, these two technological innovations were not the only ways the Japanese needed to put these tactics to use. They also needed appropriate targets worth the cost of a human life. The American's large, expensive warships were ideal for this purpose. They housed a large amount of resources and people in a package that could potentially be taken out by one person in one plane. Modern Era:
The modern incarnation of suicide bombing, beginning in the 1980s, is less reliant on means of transportation. Although cars are sometimes used, the modern suicide bomber is primarily a person carrying explosives. In 1981, Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh became the first suicide bomber of this era. At a pivotal point in a battle of the Iran-Iraq war, Fahmideh tied a grenade around his waste, slid underneath an enemy tank and detonated the grenade. Fahmideh was a 13 year old Iranian soldier who has since become a national hero. A stamp commemorating him was created in Iran in 1986. The next notable instance occurred on December 15, 1981. The Islamic Dawa Party, a militant Shiite Islamic group, detonated a car filled with explosives in front of the Iraqi embassy in Beirut. The driver of the car remained inside while the bomb was detonated. Suicide bombings were used further in the Lebanese civil war. It was the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam of Sri Lanka, however, who developed many of the tactics seen in suicide attacks today. The Tamil Tigers are a separatist organization attempting to create their own state in the north east of Sri Lanka. They have used suicide attacks to take out political targets such as Rajiv Gandhi, former Indian Prime minister, and Ranasinghe Premadasa, a Sri Lankan president. These attacks were accomplished by the use of suicide vests designed specifically to carry explosives. This tactic has since been copied by many terrorist organizations. In an assassination attempt on Sri Lankan cabinet minister Douglas Devannada on November 28, 2007, the LTTE pioneered another new technique. A female member of the Tamil Tigers detonated a bomb hidden in her bra which failed to kill Devannada. The failed assassination attempt of Douglas Devannada was caught on tape The effectiveness of these suicide attacks gave inspiration to terrorist and insurgent groups around the world. Because of the low cost and high success rate, it gave these smaller organizations a powerful weapon against much larger and better funded governments. The Hamas, a militant Islamist group from Palestine, is one of the groups most famous for its use of suicide attacks. In an attempt to get Israel to acknowledge Palestine as a sovereign state, Hamas began using suicide attacks in 1993. The first of these attacks occurred on April 16 of that year. A van filled with explosives was driven in between two parked buses and detonated. One of the key differences between the tactics of the Tamil Tigers and Hamas is their targets. The LTTE saved suicide bombings predominantly for political targets. They were attempting to destabilize the political system of their enemies and eliminate the particular people who opposed them. Hamas, on the other hand, mainly uses suicide attacks against civilians. The goal of their attacks is to demoralize as opposed to destabilize. Hamas wishes to inflict so much damage on the Israeli people that they no longer wish to contest their demands. Despite this turmoil, mainland United States largely managed to avoid suicide terrorism during the 1980s and 90s. The largest single suicide attack inflicted on the US occurred on September 11, 2001. During that morning, 19 members of the Al-Qaeda Terrorist organization hijacked four planes departing from east coast cities. Two of these planes were crashed into both World Trade Center towers in New York, eventually bringing down both buildings. Another ran into and destroyed a segment of the Pentagon building in Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in a rural area of Pennsylvania before reaching any potential target. In total, 2,974 people from 80 different countries died as a result of the attacks. The ruins of the World Trade Center after September 11th. Unwitting Suicide Bombers:
The events of September 11 were the perfect example of how different inorganic components (not just explosive devices) can be used to accomplish the goals of suicide attackers. Throughout recent history, attempts have also been made to replace the human side of the suicide bomber. Animals have frequently been used to carry explosive devices to certain targets. Although these animals are not true suicide bombers as they are not aware of their impending death, they are another attempt to mix the strong suits of organic and inorganic components. These unwitting suicide bombers have come in many forms. One of the first uses of this tactic was by the Russian military during World War II. The Russians trained a large number of dogs to seek food underneath tanks. When released in battle, these dogs would be equipped with explosives. A wooden lever on the dogs back would trip the explosives when the dog went underneath a tank. Although these dogs were said to have disabled or destroyed as many as 300 German tanks, the strategy had several flaws. In the heat of battle, it was difficult to get these dogs to charge towards the enemy lines. In addition, since the dogs were trained using Russian tanks, they would often turn around and attack their own forces. This tactic was eventually abandoned in 1942. During World War II, the US also tried its hand at animal guided weapons. The most promising project in development was called project X-ray. The idea was to release large numbers of bats carrying incendiary bombs over large Japanese cities. Several factors attributed to the use of bats. First of all, they could fly while carrying more than their own body weight, which meant they could transport a substantial amount of explosives. They need little resources or maintenance while hibernating, making for easier transportation. And perhaps most importantly, bats like to roost in dark, secretive places such as the overhangs of Japanese houses. The only damage inflicted by these bats occurred during a test at an army base in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Several bats escaped and set fire to the base. Although this slowed development, project X-ray was not fully canceled until 1944 when it was clear that the atomic bomb would be ready before these bat bombs could be deployed. A remnant of the Pigeon-Guided missle, a failed navy project from 1944. (http://historywired.si.edu/object.cfm?ID=353) Effectiveness:
There are a multitude of reasons why so many different organizations from different time periods have chosen to use suicide attacks. The most significant of these reasons is that a suicide bomber is the most intelligent form of bomb. The supposed “smart” bombs used by the US and other militaries are in fact quite stupid compared to the capability of a human. They may be able to land on a specific small patch of ground from many miles away, but they have no idea what they are hitting. It could be an enemy base or a school filled with children. These bombs rely on the intelligence of the humans controlling them. And while these humans may believe a target is in a specific place they cannot know without being there. A suicide bomber can carry a bomb to a location, identify a target, and make changes to a specific plan based on the circumstances. No current mechanical or electronic guidance systems have this level of adaptability. In addition, no other inorganic system can blend into and travel through a human environment as well as a human. A suicide bombing is also preferable in the sense of logistics. There is no need for an escape plan for the transporter of the explosives. On top of practical concerns, suicide assault provides a psychological advantage over other forms of bombing. As Robert Pape said on page 29 of his book Dying to Win, “Suicide Attacks are an especially convincing way to signal the likelihood of more pain to come, because if you are willing to kill yourself you are also willing to endure brutal retaliation.” Sacrificing one's life to hurt the enemy also functions as a signal of devotion. It shows an enemy that one is not afraid of the steep consequences of battle. The type of fear instilled by these attacks makes them perfect for terrorist organizations. Terrorist groups may not have massive resources, so they must use psychological tactics to gain the upper hand. Individual Motivation:
Although this may explain the use of human weapons by specific groups, it cannot explain the motivation of the individual suicide bomber. No matter what a government or militant organization may decide, a person must still make the conscious decision to end his or her life. There are many theories as to what makes a person susceptible to suicide in the pursuit of a tactical or ideological goal. A commonly held belief in the US is that suicide bombers are generally poor and in very desperate situations. In this model, one may be motivated by monetary compensation to family members or a desire to escape an unpleasant situation. Dr. Yusef Yadgari, a pathologist from Afghanistan, is a strong supporter of this theory. Between the years 2003 and 2007, Dr. Yadgari conducted autopsies on the bodies of suicide bombers in Kabul. He found that 80 percent of these suicide bombers had a physical/mental disability or illness. Harvard professor Alberto Abadie disagrees with this correlation to terrorism in general. In his article Poverty, Political Freedom, and the Roots of Terrorism, he instead finds a link between terrorist activity and the levels of political freedom in governing states. In addition to these possible motivations, religious ideals are inexorably linked to the modern perception of suicide bombers. Although suicide terrorism is most often associated with Islam, any religion can offer a powerful reward to a suicide bomber. The promise of compensation in the afterlife is the only incentive that can reward the actual attacker. All other potential rewards would be meaningless to the combatant once they die. Some Islamist groups such as Hamas are known to promise attackers 70 virgins in the afterlife as a reward for their devotion. This has skewed the perception of Islamist terrorist groups by mainstream America. Many believe the Islamic religion endorses suicide terrorism. In fact, there is little separating the Muslim doctrine from other forms of belief in relation to suicide warfare. Cyborgian Consequences:
It is partly due to these motivations that suicide attacks have not usually been thought of as cyborgian. A potential suicide bomber does not want to think of himself as part machine. He would rather view himself as a religious instrument than an optimization of natural and artificial elements. The societal connotations of the word cyborg also affect this perception. A cyborg is sometimes thought of as a highly robotic or artificial entity. The term in pop culture is also associated specifically with the placement of artificial elements inside of an organic body. Although a suicide bomber may not be as flashy as the cyborgs of science fiction, the methods of a suicide bomber provide a perfect example of a cyborg. A bomb alone is incapable of transporting itself to an intended location without assistance. And in turn, a human cannot significantly damage most bomb targets without help from inorganic components. It is only when both of these elements are used together that the task can be accomplished. This is the same motivation behind the creation of many of today's cyborgs. If a person wishes to accomplish a task that its body is physically incapable of, artificial enhancement may be the next logical step. This enhancement also represents a sort of transformation. In the case of the suicide bomber, it is the transformation from a person into a weapon. The idea of this human weapon is part of the psychological affect suicide attacks have on their victims. To become a suicide bomber, one must not only do explosives, but change his or her mentality to one of a weapon designed to destroy. In this way, the cyborgian element of suicide terrorism is quite relevant to its perceived image and psychological consequences. Bibliography
-Scott Atran, The Moral Logic and Growth of Suicide Terrorism. http://www.twq.com/06spring/docs/06spring_atran.pdf, Spring 2006 |