Article: The Educated Terrorists

In a very interesting article in CSM (can you tell we like this paper?), it appears that terrorists and suicide bombers may not be the poor, uneducated wretches that many make them out to be. According to the article, only 13% of Palestinian suicide bombers came from poor families, whereas some 32% of the Palestinian population in a similar age group were considered poor. Furthermore, virtually all of these bombers had at least finished primary school. This reminds me of some of our previous discussions regarding the origins of revolt (see Discussion: The Revolutionary Threshold beginning 5-30-03). I believe we came to the conclusion that the poor and uneducated were unlikely to revolt against the status quo. On the other hand, the middle class or elites would have the time, money, and knowledge to be the key players in leading a revolt to change the economic and social circumstances. Perhaps this is reflected in the background of the suicide bombers. The more they know, the more they detest the occupation of Palestine. I can't say I blame them for their feelings, although I find it impossible to condone their actions against civilians (no more than I would condone Israel's extrajudicial executions of both suspected militants and innocent bystanders).