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Science 7 March 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5612, pp. 1534 - 1539
DOI: 10.1126/science.1078854
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Review

Genesis of Suicide Terrorism

Scott Atran

Contemporary suicide terrorists from the Middle East are publicly deemed crazed cowards bent on senseless destruction who thrive in poverty and ignorance. Recent research indicates they have no appreciable psychopathology and are as educated and economically well-off as surrounding populations. A first line of defense is to get the communities from which suicide attackers stem to stop the attacks by learning how to minimize the receptivity of mostly ordinary people to recruiting organizations.

CNRS-Institut Jean Nicod, 1 bis Avenue Lowendal, 75007 Paris, France, and Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA. E-mail: satran{at}umich.edu

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