Suicide Attacks Life as a Weapon

Abstract

Suicide attacks have increased dramatically in the Middle East over the past year with the war in Iraq and the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This rise in suicide attacks is remarkable given that the total number of terrorist incidents worldwide fell from its peak of 665 in 1986 to 190 in 2003 alone, whereas the incidents of suicide attacks increased from 31 in the 1980s to 98 in 20031. There is growing evidence that current American domestic and foreign policies may be further contributing to an acceleration of this trend.