Your suspicion is ill-founded. Read the book I mentioned. The guy's research is thorough, includes psychiatric and physical assessments, and draws on other research. Your contention about mental illness and drug use isn't supported by the mass of evidence gathered about suicide operations.
As for suicide bombings taking place mainly in poor areas, again your contention isn't supported by reality.
Right I've gone through this and I think a lot of what he is claiming on the state of minds of suicide bombers both is flawed and some is old hat.
The mental health issues particularly amongst Islamists and even the Tamil Tigers (that he puts forward as the example of secular people committing suicide) cannot be supported as people who are not suffering some form of mental health problems.
It is widely accepted in the west that anyone that commits suicide is suffering some form of mental health issue be it depression, a clinical condition bi=polar etc or trauma. It is very difficult to get to the background of the suicide bombers mental health well being for a number of reasons. Culturally for starters if you take Islam, to commit suicide is a sin, so conventional suicide is at odds with those battling depression or other mental health issues, their demons are at conflict with religious beliefs, to become a suicide bomber gives them a way out as they then become a 'martyr' and according to their beliefs that will get them to heaven. Committing suicide any other way takes them to hell. It is unlikely they are going to confide to anyone that they feel suicidal because of their religious beliefs. The access to diagnosis and treatment particularly for the poor in Muslim countries is hopeless at best (see somebodies previous post on how the mentally ill are treated in Somalia for example). Suicide in many islamic countries is actually illegal.
There is no way Robert Pape would have access to the background health of all the suicide bombers and even if he did it would not tell the whole story as mental health issues are often hidden, not reported, covered by denial or for fear of shame and ridicule. According to the NHS half of suicide victims in the UK have sought professional help.
That means half don't. Are we really saying that 50% of people in the UK are not depressed or traumatised when they are committing suicide? Men in particular are slow or unwilling to get help on all health issues.
You can argue the case for the terminally ill having all their faculties to make a decision of suicide, but lets face it what can be more depressing than being terminally ill?. Well my Grandfather committed suicide at 92, he wasn't terminally ill or suffering any illness, he was depressed at seeing all his friends die is what we eventually figured. For him it was clearly as bad as being terminally ill. he was rational and planned his death. Having a mental health issue does not preclude you from being able to organise your death or from showing outward signs of being happy or 'normal' an argument against Pape stating that the suicide bombers knew what they were doing and went about their business in a normal manner... so did my grandfather in the days up to when he hung himself an event he planned and perversely joked about, when my uncle found some cable hanging from the bannisters a few days before and asked him what they were for. My Grandfather was one of the 50% that didn't seek help before killing himself.
Unless you or we are saying depression is not a mental health issue I cannot agree with Robert Pape and I think whilst he has cleverly put together statistics and made a good study his claims and arguments don't convince me.
The Tamil tigers or the Japanese kamikaze pilots were living in a traumatic world (War must be one of the most traumatic depressing fear arenas to be placed in) this makes you irrational and irresponsible to your own survival, trauma, fear, stress and depression at seeing loved ones die or be oppressed will trigger the decision to place ones life on the line or to take foolhardy risks, including a decision to blow oneself up taking out the object or cause of your trauma/fear/depression. This is when hope goes and with that mans desire to survive.
I have been surrounded by people with mental health issues including my Mother who was sectioned many times having suffered from Schizophrenia, I was the kid with the mad mum. My daughter has Bi-Polar and when having a n episode takes huge risks and has anger issues, she has attempted suicide 4 times so far including one where she was in a coma for 5 days.I live in fear of a bad phone call.
There are many counter arguments to Robert Pape from people within the mental health profession you can see them splashed all over the internet (Pape is also not an expert on mental health). I don't buy into his claims simply because he would not be privy to all the health records of the suicide bombers and even if he did those records do not tell the real or whole stories of the state of mind of those planning to kill others and kill themselves. The vast majority of people living in these areas do not go and seek help for depression in the way that we do here in the west and even then according to the NHS that is only half of suicide victims seeking such help. What percentage of depressed people do you think seek help for mental health issues or depression in Pakistan?
You can use the argument of ideology and conviction etc but many would argue such conviction and belief is an obsession and in itself is a step into an unstable mind. It is a complex issue which Pape acknowledges. His is the conventional argument and it is not new, there are other studies out there, that are debunking some of his claims.
Mental health issues are huge and way more than we know or understand even and are made even more complex by the way we live and try to survive.
The Leytonstone knifer from Somalia was mentally ill, we now know that his family desperately sought medical help. Some posters who shot me down for claiming this, are noticeably quiet by their absence.
So I'll repeat my view now... To be a suicide bomber or shooter/knifer you are mad... of course it depends on how you want to define mad.
