The Mirror asks some interesting questions about the London bombings of 7/7/05 suggesting that the terrorists could have been duped into believing that they would get away without killing themselves:
Police and MI5 are probing if the four men were told by their al-Qaeda controller they had time to escape after setting off timers. Instead, the devices exploded immediately.
A security source said: "If the bombers lived and were caught they'd probably have cracked. Would their masters have allowed that to happen? We think not."
To support this theory they point out that the bombers bought round trip tickets and "pay and display car park tickets" before boarding. They carried wallets containing identification and personal items. They carried bombs in backpacks that could have been left behind instead of bombs strapped to their bodies. And some of them had strong personal reasons to live.
It could just be wishful thinking that these terrorists were just four dumb suckers, but it does make some sense.
(Via Sploid.)
I recall there was also pretty good evidence that most of the 9/11 suicide squad members were duped into thinking they were only going to hijack the planes, not crash them into buildings. If these stories are true, it demonstrates how difficult it is to crack these groups. Think about it: if the very members of the squads don't know what is going to happen, how likely is it that law enforcement can penetrate them?
Posted by: Redman | July 18, 2005 at 10:18 AM
Good point Redman. So far it appears as if law enforcement hasn't penetrated them.
Posted by: Geo | July 18, 2005 at 03:33 PM