I dunno. I seem to remember a bunch decided to become "human shields" before we went into Iraq.
It's not where they are, it's who they face. They may be thoroughlly deluded but they're not THAT stupid (mostly -- there are notable exceptions).
Those human panty shields wanted camera time, nothing more. They wanted to lurk around schools and hospitals, knowing full well those places weren’t targets in this age of precision bombing. When Hussein said for them to be next to bona fide targets, such as power plants and broadcast towers, etc, the cowards left.
I was not impressed.