suicide terrorists are rational actors'

Introduction:

In the following essay will cite three experts in psychology of the best universities in the world,
which explain that terrorists are not crazy.

Sources:
Dr Andrew Silke, a UN advisor and forensic psychologist at Leicester University, says
terrorism is a political, not a psychiatric diagnosis.He said legal reports showed members of
groups such as Al-Qaeda were motivated by violent events and the desire for revenge. Dr Silke
was speaking at the annual conference of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Harrogate. Dr
Silke and researchers from the US and Germany have looked at the psychology of terrorism.
He said analysis of transcripts of legal proceedings against 180 members of Al-Qaeda, and
interviews with other terrorist group members dispelled the myth that terrorists are insane. (1)
Dr. Park Dietz, the head psychiatric consultant for the FBI and founder of the Threat
Assesment Group In said: "It is unlikely that any of the terrorists suffered from a serious
mental illness. Dietz adds that the terrorists took part "in a suicide mission on behalf of a cause
with the expectation of contributing to the accomplishment of a greater good." He points out
that while "the terrorist on a suicide mission seeks revenge and publicity their primary goal is
political change."It appears that suicide is a mere consequence of their mission, and the
"terrorists see themselves as soldiers willing to sacrifice themselves for a higher purpose. (2)
For last Paul Heroux who has a Master's in International Relations from the London
School of Economics said: Terrorists are different from psychopaths. Terrorists do feel
remorse for some of what goes on in their life. They are angered by what the U.S. and the
West has done in the Middle East and to Muslims. They feel remorse over the killing of a friend,
family member or neighbor. (3)
There arent some arguments of scholars or researchers who say that terrorists are crazy.
The end of a myth:
"Many psychiatrists and psychologists have written that terrorists suffer from delusions and are
psychopaths, but the people who make these claims have never met a terrorist face to face,"

Dr. Silke said and he added: "Psychologists who have met a terrorist face to face don't find any
evidence of this. "They certainly aren't crazy, they certainly aren't mad," he said. (4)
Mr. Heroux explained that Many people wrongly say Osama Bin Laden was a crazy murder. He
was no less of a crime of an organizer of murderers, but he was not crazy. What he did may
seem crazy to some in that it defies logic to kill innocent people, but we have to remember that
he was very careful, thoughtful and methodical about what he did and what he said. There are
some individuals who are affected by mental illness and this can be a risk factor for violence,
especially when combined with drug abuse. This, however, is not what we see with the garden
variety terrorist.(5)

Why it is important?:
Its fundamental demystify the idea that the terrorist is crazy, so discard the field of mental
health and focus efforts in other fields. If we belive that terrorist are crazy, we cannot
investigating the motivations, the rationale of terrorists groups or terrorist individuals.
Many terrorism experts are skeptical of explanations that rely on mental illness or psychopathy
because these explanations hide social and political issues the terrorists take very seriously.
A belief that terrorists are crazy or irrational may lead to an overemphasis on security to deal
with the relatively small number of terrorist organizations, rather than taking a more holistic
approach to the root causes of terrorism. The belief that terrorists are driven by antiAmericanism and hatred of freedom reinforces the idea that terrorism is an accumulation of the
irrational or slick beliefs of a few, rather than the militant wing of a substantive political agenda
that may receive widespread support, including financial aid. The myth that terrorists are mainly
motivated by anti-Americanism ignores the violence they have done to other Muslims, and sets
up Islam as the enemy rather than highlighting potential alliances with Arab leaders. (6)
Conclusion:
Reducing the frequency, severity and support for terrorism are important goals, and ones that
should not be left only to political scientists, psychologists and security personnel. Criminology
has an important role to play in helping confront the problem of international terrorism and
should take up the uncomfortable challenges of pursuing a deeper understanding. More
importantly in our court system, if someone is insane he or she isn't usually held legally
accountability for his or her actions as a sane person would be; preventive detention is another
matter Insanity is a legal distinction, not a specific psychological condition. All the evidence
suggests that terrorists are very much in control of their actions.

(1) (4) BBC: 9 July, 2004, 16:24 GMT 17:24 UK

Wrong to call terrorists 'madmen'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3880777.stm
(2) Abc news: The Mind of a Suicide Terrorist
Sept. 20 by Andrew Giese
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=117233
(3) (5) The Huffigtone Post: Paul Heroux Become a fan State Representative, Massachusetts.
Are Terrorists Insane?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-heroux/are-terrorists-insane_b_976755.html
(6) Demystifying Terrorism: Crazy Islamic Terrorists Who Hate Us Because Were Free?
Paul Leighton, Eastern Michigan University:
http://stopviolence.com/9-11/terrorism/Crazy-Islamic-Terrorists.pdf