--- Shane Mage <shmage at pipeline.com> wrote: The only human emotion I can imagine as sufficient is *revenge*, especially when bolstered by religious fanaticism.
--- What about Japanese kamazazis in WWII?
I have no doubt that some or probably the majority of Chechnya-related suicide bombings are motivated by revenge. From what I know, the majority of these women claim to be the wives of rebels killed in the war, who, after their husbands deaths, either volunteered to become bombers or were forced (this is what those who have been captured or turned themselves in say -- I used to have a long interview with one, Zarema Muzhikhoyeva, that I can't find). Others say that they had no relatives killed, but were kidnapped by male relatives and forced to it (after long periods of being brainwashed, drugged, and told "you are a mere woman. You must die for the cause."). Maybe this is true, or maybe they are lying, I don't know. There also seems to be considerable pressure brought to bear on them because, in Chechen culture, especially in the state Chechnya is in, a woman with no husband is seen as a drain on the family.
The belts also seem to usually be detonated by remote control, which would seem to indicate that they are not seen as very reliable, considering the rate at which they have second thoughts and turn themselves in.
I just wrote Ralph Davis, who runs the Russian Military and Security list I originally got the Muzhikhoyeva interview from, and asked him to resend it (he must be very busy right now). If I can get a fresh copy from him (it's translated), I can send it to anybody who wants -- it's way too long for the list. But here's some stuff:
In an interview published in Izvestia in February, Mazhikhoyeva said she agreed to become a suicide bomber with the understanding that her relatives would receive $1,000 to make up for jewelry she had stolen from them.
http://www.sptimes.ru/archive/times/958/top/t_12137.htm
Muzhikhoyeva says that Lyuba met her when she flew in from Ingushetia, a region bordering Chechnya. Lyuba took her to a safe house and gave her orange juice that left her dizzy and confused. Security officials believe the juice was laced with a mind-altering drug intended to break down any inhibitions as she prepared to die. They have sent blood samples for testing.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/20/1058639664708.html?oneclick=true
Their participation - despite Chechnya's deeply patriarchal society, or perhaps because of it - reflects the radicalization of a war that began as a separatist struggle but has now turned increasingly brutal and nihilistic.
It has also exposed the deep schisms that are tearing apart Chechnya, where few interviewed here this week spoke warmly of Russia or the Kremlin, but where all expressed horror at the bombings, the school siege, and other attacks that have been carried out for the sake of Chechnya's independence.
"We were so shocked," one woman who worked beside Dzhbirkhanova in Grozny's central market said, speaking only if she were identified by her first name, Yana. Her eyes reddened with tears. "How could she?"
Chechens themselves - almost without exception - have not embraced a cult of religious martyrdom, as have, for example, the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, insurgents in Iraq, or extremist groups like al-Qaida.
(snip)
In February, the newspaper Izvestia published an interview with her in which she claimed she had been recruited to terrorism out of shame and debt. Her handlers gave her orange juice that made her dizzy and dispatched her to bomb the cafe. Eventually, she said, she lost her will to die. She cooperated with investigators - leading them to a cache of "suicide belts" buried in a small village on Moscow's outskirts.
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/Newszine/
http://www.rusnet.nl/news/2004/09/01/currentaffairs01.shtml
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