Understanding the Complexities of Suicide Terrorism

Contemporary suicide terrorism has been a stumbling block to global peace and the current war on terror has dismally failed to counter let alone contain it. This book argues that suicide terrorism is mainly caused by indoctrination. Therefore, the key to both understand and thwart it is by rendering the indoctrination capability of terrorist groups obsolete. In the event that all the active terrorists are either incarcerated or eliminated, suicide terrorism will continue as long as the ability to indoctrinate remains intact. Although other factors which characterize terrorist groups such as weaponry, finance, religion, an enabling environment, organizational structures, infrastructure and sponsors among others contribute to suicide operations, they nonetheless are not central. To this end, efforts to counter suicide terrorism should focus on ending radicalization and/or indoctrination of individuals and communities.