Jihad Suicide Hug

It seems that would-be Afghan suicide bombers are known to welcome a final embrace from their fellow jihadis just before leaving on missions. Unfortunately, hugging is risky when an individual is rigged and ready with explosives.

Nowhere is the gap between sinister stereotype and ridiculous reality more apparent than in Afghanistan, where it’s fair to say that the Taliban employ the world’s worst suicide bombers: one in two manages to kill only himself.

And this success rate hasn’t improved at all in the five years they’ve been using suicide bombers, despite the experience of hundreds of attacks—or attempted attacks.

In Afghanistan, as in many cultures, a manly embrace is a time-honored tradition for warriors before they go off to face death. Thus, many suicide bombers never even make it out of their training camp or safe house, as the pressure from these group hugs triggers the explosives in suicide vests.

When backward societies fight modern wars, eh?