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In his Dec. 13 commentary, "What really drives suicide terrorists?," Robert Pape makes the inference that suicide terrorism is a response to the occupation of the terrorist's actual or kindred homeland by a foreign power. He is probably right to suggest a link between territory and suicide terrorism.
Where Mr. Pape is on less firm ground, however, is in his argument that territoriality is the only significant explanation for suicide terrorism. Demonstrations of correlation are not evidence of causality.
Until he supplements his otherwise impressive analysis of archival data with interviews of likely terrorists, he will not know for sure what motivates them to give up their own lives in the process of killing others.
This poses implications for US policy that are more comprehensive than those suggested by Pape.
Dennis J.D. Sandole
Professor of conflict resolution and international relations,
Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution,
George Mason University
Arlington, Va.
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