These pilots earned not only the respect of their compatriots, which saw them as performing the ultimate sacrifice to the Japanese Empire, but also of the American forces who were impressed by their willingness to fight. .
This form of resistance is irrational since involves useless loss of life. It is also irrational from a tactical point of view as well since the operatives doing this job can be only used once, unlike regular army operatives which can be used on numerous occasions. .
Modern day suicide bombings have sprouted in the Middle East. Initially used by Hezbollah in Lebanon against French and American peace-keeping troops in Beirut, they involved an individual armed with a bomb on his person and blowing himself up at strategic locations against the peace-keeping soldiers. .
Perhaps the most known of suicide bombing is, undoubtedly the current Intifadeh in Palestine currently underway. This Intifadeh is seen by many as being a David-Goliath conflict in which Palestinian children throw stones at highly armed Israeli soldiers. This conflict, which has dragged on since 2000, has seen a radical shift from other Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. The use of suicide bombers has grown exponentially since the beginning of the Intifadeh. In 2000 there were four attacks, in 2001 there were thirty-six attacks. .
The organisation organising these attacks have said that the suicide bombers are "martyrs" because they have given up their life to the cause. I believe that the notion of a suicide bomber has two faces. It shows the desperation of the people involved, since the only way forward they see for their country is through "sacrificing" themselves to liberate their land. Second, it all depends on the perception of the local people. If someone had to blow himself up in Valletta to protest against the government, I believe that the Maltese people would not look to him as a "martyr" but as a "fool".
