Princeton Economist Says Lack of Civil Liberties, Not Poverty, Breeds Terrorism

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118358989440157536.html?mod=googlenews_wsj ^ | DAVID WESSEL

[ventanax5]

Backgrounds of 148 Palestinian suicide bombers show they were less likely to come from families living in poverty and were more likely to have finished high school than the general population. Biographies of 129 Hezbollah shahids (martyrs) reveal they, too, are less likely to be from poor families than the Lebanese population from which they come. . . .

Terrorism doesn't increase in the Middle East when economic conditions worsen; indeed, there seems no link. One study finds the number of terrorist incidents is actually higher in countries that spend more on social-welfare programs. Slicing and dicing data finds no discernible pattern that countries that are poorer or more illiterate produce more terrorists. Examining 781 terrorist events classified by the U.S. State Department as "significant" reveals terrorists tend to come from countries distinguished by political oppression, not poverty or inequality.

Public-opinion polls from Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey find people with more education are more likely to say suicide attacks against Westerners in Iraq are justified. Polls of Palestinians find no clear difference in support for terrorism as a means to achieve political ends between the most and least educated. . .

[goldstategop]

Its not lack of freedom that breeds terrorism. The privileged and well to do rarely have to worry about not being able to take part in society's affairs.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[wardaddy]

lack of available women

[Free Thinking Conservative]

Women need husbands who can produce.

[American in Israel]

Close but no cigar. Lack of civil liberties comes from Islam, and so does the teachings of a death cult.

It is not just a lack of civil liberties, it is the root cause, Islam.

[wardaddy]

i’m not sure I get your meaning....

Islam creates a lack of women...a bad thing for young unwealthy men.

Decent women do not have to have wealthy men per se.....ergo ...most men in America prior to WWI

Palestinians who left the Middle East and went elsewhere do pretty well like most Arabs.....or Sephradic Jews

[durasell]

Palestinians who left the Middle East and went elsewhere do pretty well like most Arabs.....or Sephradic Jews

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I have also found this to be the case.

[albie]

“lack of available women”

...lack of available goats”.

[cricket]

Sick of the Liberal intelligentsia who, like the rest of the Liberal Left cannot grasp the core of the Muslim problem and so offer up their what can only be 'upgrades' for disaster. Their heads are in the sand; and they want us to share their view.

Do not have time to post; but following should be read by any and all who have 'sand in their eyes'. A riveting read; post Britain's Islamist bombing attempts from Art Moore/World Net Daily:

Islamist's Declare Sovereignty Over US.UK. . .and Gordon Brown's response to British citizenry. . .

wndlink

[Son House]

terrorists tend to come from countries distinguished by political oppression

Lack of civil liberties comes from Islam

Thanks for pointing that out, I was a little slow this morning.

[johnny7]

...the root cause, Islam.

[Enchante]

All the jihad terrorists in Europe and America have enjoyed an excess of civil liberties, i.e., far more than they deserved for their squalid genocidal hatreds even before they committed acts of terror. As for the countries of origin which display such an absence of civil liberties, the common thread is the depravity of ISLAM which is a blight on humanity wherever it dominates. No Islam-dominated country is worth living in, while every country distinguished by a high level of civil liberties is (so far) remarkably free of Islamic dominance. That, of course, can change as the march of dhimmitude continues to spread in Europe and even in the USA.

[CarrotAndStick]

Lack of Civil Liberties ISLAM, Not Poverty, Breeds Terrorism

[EBH]

Actually it is not so much the ‘democratic freedom’ as it is the freedom to own, produce, and be proud of ones own efforts. The arab/muslim ‘well to do’ are in a battle with society as a whole in order to maintain their power.

Terrorism is about power. The power to hold sway over its victims...be they infidels or other muslim sects.

Democracy fails in the Middle East because the ruling factions refuse to give up their power over the people. They maintain that power through terrorism of the public.

[ConsistentLibertarian]

Hmmmmm.

Given the serious erosion of our civil liberties at the hands of the current administration, this could be very bad news indeed.

[wardaddy]

you bad..lol

[wardaddy]

in many third world nations, there is often a contingent of Arabs, Chinese, Indians(east), and Jews...usually Sephradic who are very prominent in the local economy

the Haitian economy ...for what it is....runs on Arab (mostly Palestinian) and Sephardic Jewish capital more than any other single source

[wtc911]

the Haitian economy ...for what it is....runs on Arab (mostly Palestinian) and Sephardic Jewish capital more than any other single source

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Not so much Palis as Christian Lebanese with French names (Antoine, eg).

[wardaddy]

I was thinking of my old comrade (lol) Sammy Mourra...formerly married to Chantal Bennet

[Free Thinking Conservative]

Islam doesnt’t create enough eligible men. That’s the problem.