Terrorists know what they are doing, they are not crazy, say researchers
Dr. Andrew Silke, Forensic Psychologist, University of Leicester (UK), presented his findings at a conference of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Dr. Silke referred to earlier findings as well. He spoke of Wilfred Rusch, who in the 1970s, interviewed terrorists belonging to a German underground group called Baader Meinhof. Dr. Rusch said "None of these people is crazy -- there is no psychiatric explanation as to why they are involved in terrorism."
Dr. Silke said the trigger for becoming a terrorist is often revenge. The person witnesses acts of violence in his own community and wants revenge. Sometimes, the person has been involved in a demonstration where the police have used excessive force - that could be one of the triggers.
The Bloody Sunday incidence in Northern Ireland preceeded many acts of terrorist violence in the area. Silke said "There were 500 violent deaths in the four years before Bloody Sunday and 500 in the six months after it, a staggering increase in terrorist violence." On Bloody Sunday, it is said the police over-reacted.
Silke said that as TV becomes more graphic, it is not so necessary for the person to experience the violence first hand - he can have the same feelings of wanting to exact revenge by seeing the incidences on TV.
Silke said that the TV footage showing a father and son cowering by a house immediately before the boy was shot dead triggered a staggering increase in violence.
Teroriºtii ºtiu ceea ce face, nu sunt nebun, spun cercetatorii - Terrorists know what they are doing, they are not crazy, say researchers - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate