Shawn8888

http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol36i2/page06.htm

Here is a article stating that these suicide bombers are drugged possibly tortured and hypnotized into doing these suicide bombers. This is very scary stuff if it is true. Any one of us could become a suicide bomber at any point in time. If we are captured or abducted even our children could become a suicide bomber. I believe it is true and that they are programming people. So in other words any one programming another person like this is considered a terrorist!

Rany13

yeah definetly, its incredible how people can be "programmed". Check out experiments made by a famous pscychologist form Princeton University (Zimbardo). Its been proven scientifically, pretty amazing.

Nemo

Japanese Kamikaze pilots were known to take some drug (forgot what it was). Not sure if that counts as programming.

And im not sure what would constitute "programmed". Some think they are doing good for their God and they'll get a good reward by killing some Americans. Some might just be retarded. Some could be "programmed". Im fairly certain some are programmed- but not all.

Some have nothing. Poor people following poor people who have nothing to live for. So they will die for their God and, therefore, think they will go to a heaven or get some great reward for dying for their cause/God.

Rany13

No, experiments have been conducted with actual students from Yale University (not dumb, these are pretty educated people) and the human mind has proven to be way (i dont wanna say weaker but you get my point) than we all thought

Cuthbert

I believe they always drank Sake before any mission - not sure about any other drugs that they may take though.

Anyone heard of the Milgram Experiment? It's not about "programming" people, though it does show that most people would go against their conscience and their beliefs in order to obey an authority figure. In the experiment, volunteers were paid to "conduct an experiment" and then commanded to give electric shocks to another "volunteer" starting at a low voltage and increasing to fairly high (the "volunteer" that is "being shocked" is actually an actor and pretending to be shocked while not receiving any shocks). As the "shocks" grew stronger, the actor would pretend to be in extreme pain, start screaming, complaining about his heart condition, and begging for the shocks to be stopped, etc. Although all the volunteers showed extreme discomfort and reluctancy to keep on shocking the actor, most did not stop. Usually, a simple "you must continue" or "you have no choice, you must finish the experiment" would be enough for many people to keep shocking the actor despite their conscience - not many volunteers actually quit, and no one quit until the actor was in extreme pain already.

An authority figure can in a way "program" people - the instinct to obey authority can often override one's conscience or other beliefs. Of course this part of human nature doesn't account for all suicide bombings, though I believe it contributes greatly to many people's willingness to commit such atrocities. Whether or not they believe it themselves, there are many authority figures that would actively promote terrorism, like Saddam Hussein who gave huge sums of money to the families of many suicide bombers. Of course, there are people who genuinely believe in their cause, but authority figures definitely contribute to these radical beliefs.

Rany13

yeah ive studied that experiment --the outcomes startled me, didnt expect that at all

Shawn8888

One more thing. That I forgot to add. Mice in experiments of intelligence are shocked. If the mouse picked the wrong thing it would get a shock. If it picked the right one it would get food. This is the same method that there talking about in the article. If the person picked any other thought that was away from what they were programmed for. They would experience pain. If they did that to people at much higher levels of pain. The person psychotically could not even think about doing anything else. With out the memory of that pain. That is the idea of programming.

templar exile

There's a story from the time of the Crusades about a young Hashashin (assassin). The Hashashin were sort of the forerunners of today's suicide bombers. Their job was to go on suicide missions to kill various people of importance-Caliphs, Crusader leaders, rival sects' leaders, etc. They, like today's suicide bombers, had had it drummed into them that they were doing 'Divine' work in killing their enemies. The night before they set off on their mission, the leaders would give them lots of drugs (this is where the word Hash comes from), and let them spend the night in a harem of beautiful women. When they awoke the following morning they were convinced they had just had a vision of the paradise that awaited them on completion of their mission-doesn't this sound familiar today? Anyway, one young Hashashin came back from his mission alive, having failed to carry out his object and die in doing so. His family were so ashamed of this that apparently his own mother killed him on the spot.

So it's not just the programming of the individual but of their family and peers too.

It's a pity that this sort of medieval mentality still exists 800 years on-only today they have the capacity to cause massive industrial scale loss of live amongst ordinary people like you and me. The mantra of the suicide bomber is that whilst we value life, they value death more. It's terrible that this is being drummed into these people so they actually believe the 'truth' of this and become fanatical to such a degree. Notice you never see the Bin Laden's of the world directly carrying out these attrocities themselves-they always send those who are under their sway. Unfortunately those committing these acts are so pre-programmed that they fail to see the hypocritical nature of those who are willing to send them to their deaths, and the deaths of 100's of innocents, whilst they remain behind.

SangReal

Are they programmed? Maybe. However, they are not programmed so far as to not know what they are doing. They definitely know they are, and take pride in, killing the "enemy." So they don't get a pass from me, like "Oh, poor things, it's not their fault, they were brainwashed." They do this for what they believe is their own personal benefit. It is a selfish act to get a reward, not something meant to please a good God. Let's be clear on that.

Programming would require force. "Smoke these drugs and believe this" is NOT force. I don't know what else to say.

ectius

Personally, I don't think that people need to be drugged or brainwashed to do such things.

If you ask me, 72 virgins in heaven sounds like pretty good incentive to blow yourself up.
Then again, many people have voiced how religion in general is "brainwashing". All in how you look at it, I suppose.

On the other hand...

Article

A biased article, obviously, but it did have a few good points. If you honestly believe that you are on the "right path" in what you are doing, then that in itself is incentive enough to do anything (good or bad).

Why do any of us debate a personal issue? Why do the religious witness to others? Why do bystanders run into burning buildings? Why do teenagers tell their friends quit smoking and their parents to stay out of their personal lives? Why do racists and homophobes write hate messages on bathroom walls? Why do bombers... blow themselves up?
Because they all believe themselves to be right, and that's all it really takes.