Inclusion Daily Express -- Taliban Recruits 'Disenfranchised' For Suicide Bombings

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Taliban Recruits 'Disenfranchised' For Suicide Bombings
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
May 8, 2007

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN--An alarming number of people with physical and mental disabilities are being recruited as suicide bombers by Taliban terrorists, according to a story in Monday's Globe and Mail.

The newspaper quoted a forensics expert, who has examined the remains of many suicide bombers, as saying that up to 90 percent show signs of having a disability of some sort -- usually a mental disability -- before the blasts that killed them. This rate is consistent with the number of would-be suicide bombers whose missions have failed, either because they have changed their minds or because they have been stopped by law enforcement or soldiers.

In many cases, the newspaper reported, the Taliban has made promises to pay the potential bombers' surviving families several hundred or thousand dollars in exchange for a successful suicide mission. This can be particularly appealing for men with disabilities who feel hopeless because of a lack of support services, along with the stigma that still exists in Afghan society for people with disabilities.

"In a culture like ours, disability and the possibility of being out on the street are equated with great shame," said Firoz Ali Alizada, who uses crutches and artificial legs since he lost both legs when a landmine exploded. "A man who is married and has children is suddenly incapable of supporting and feeding his family . . . He might find it easier to die."

The Globe and Mail also suggested that Taliban leaders are turning to "disaffected members of society", many from outside their own ranks and even outside the country, instead of sending on suicide missions those that considered "capable" fighters.

Last month, the IRIN news service reported on dozens of instances where al-Qaeda in Iraq militants have recruited and kidnapped children with disabilities to use as soldiers, decoys, spies, and suicide bombers against U.S. and coalition forces in that country.

Related:
"Why the disabled do Taliban's deadly work" (Globe & Mail)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/07/red/0509e.htm
"Disabilities And The 'War On Terror'" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/war.htm

Copyright © 2007 Inonit Publishing
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