Posted by Mitchell on October 18, 2001, at 21:17:34
In reply to Re: Operation Northwoods, OPLAN 34A, posted by Gracie2 on October 18, 2001, at 18:55:14
> Actually, the suicide rates of a nation at war always go way down...whether this is because it gives one's life purpose and a sense of comraderie
> is probably the answer...if it is not simply a renewed interest in saving's one hide. True fact.
> -GracieGracie,
I trust that generally, during times of war, reported suicide rates have declined. The reason, as you suggest, might simply be a unique, situational sense of purpose, or might be a byproduct of a survival instinct excited by an immediate threat.
"Always" might not be the most accurate measure, though, especially in the present war, where some portion of a population is willing to use suicide as a military tactic. I'm thinking of a quote by a Taliban leader in which he said the nation, at least the population that is affiliated with the religious students' government, is willing to commit suicide to achieve its goal. During the Vietnam War, we saw an increase in particular types of suicides - such as the monks who self-immolated as a protest against the war. Suicide bombers operated to some extent in Vietnam in the 1960s and '70s, and have been active in parts of the Middle East for several years. They are celebrated in street-side posters and their families are supported by well-organized martyrs' organizations. This unique form of suicide, now more than ever, suggests a need for objective and urgent study.
Though they are somewhat different in form, militant suicide is in other ways similar to suicides accompanied by mass murder we have witnessed in the U.S., such as at Columbine High School. While surviving individuals might feel it necessary to deny any message, meaning or purpose in these kinds of suicides, the cost of ignoring this deadly form of communication could be catastrophic for society as a whole.
The Cold War presented another unique suicidal tendency sometimes described as a Solomon syndrome, which unfortunately could erupt in the present conflict in the matter of a few hours or days, if it is not already afoot. A Solomon strategy is when a nation threatened with destruction or defeat will initiate a destructive process that will bring the house down upon itself in order to also bring about the demise of an enemy. Some say Israel's military doctrine includes a nuclear Solomon plan. The Cold War doctrines of the U.S. and the former USSR have been well documented as being policies of mutually assured destruction.
Another flaw in the measure of suicide during war is that combat deaths are not usually considered suicide, though most combat veterans will attest that some missions or combat tactics are suicidal. In WWI, when hundreds of thousands of young men were ordered to advance into certain death by machine gun fire, their deaths were not considered suicide, though a reasonable analysis would conclude that they more or less willingly committed an act that caused their own death. The death rates of U.S. pilots flying missions against anti-aircraft missile sites in Vietnam were about equivalent to, or worse than, the chances against survival in a game of Russian Roulette. Current U.S. military tactics include a high degree of force protection measures, and suicidal missions are now seldom required of U.S. soldiers, but other nations do not afford the same protection against compulsory suicide. Even among U.S. soldiers, there lingers a lore of soldiers becoming "crazy brave," in which fatigue can lead soldiers to take risks that are almost certainly suicidal.
Yet another flaw of measures that suggest a drop in suicide during war is the failure to assess post-war psychological casualties, which often result in post-traumatic syndromes, including increased suicidal tendencies. Studies show populations exposed to warfare exhibit trauma-related behaviors that sometimes persist for generations after a war. If suicide rates drop during the term of a war, but double after the war, the gross effect of war would be an increase in suicides.
poster:Mitchell
thread:11414
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20011015/msgs/12681.html