Discussion Questions

  • What does Ms. O’Rourke suggest motivates female suicide bombers?  Do you agree or not and why?
  • What does Ms. O’Rourke believe we should do about the problem and what are her suggestions for doing this?
  • Summarize the criticisms of Michael Horowitz with regard to the O’Rourke editorial.
  • What does he mean when he notes that “Scott Ashworth et al. recently pointed out in the American Political Science Review, studying just the universe of suicide terror groups or female suicide attackers selects on the dependent variable.”?  
  • Do you believe that this article is persuasive?
  • Can the United Nations make suicide terrorism and its adoption and use a crime against humanity when they cannot even agree on a definition of terrorism?
  • What do you think the current support for suicide bombings happens to be in various countries?  For the answer, go here:  pewresearch.org and search under global attitudes/foreign affairs