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The peculiarities of Middle Eastern tribal and familial nurturing creates a large pool of young men with severe self-image inadequacies and doubt. Islam provides a vehicle that constantly emphsizes warrior heroes like Saladin, Husayn just as the Jews revere Joshua, only on a much bigger scale.

No religion reveres it's warriors and their crusades more than Islam. Muslim crusades were driven by greed but are carefully cloaked in religious salvation.

The concept of "honor" is largely of tribal importance only and would contribute a very minor driver to the suicide bombers.

Middle Eastern peoples are very insular and xenophobic and parochial. The pre-Perry Japanese have nothing on them. Saudi sand is sacred, all our Gulf War equipment had to be inspected as completely sandless by Saudis before leaving the Gulf. That anti-foreign bigotry is irrational enough to cause a need for a retaliation 'call to arms' and is a basic theme of bin Laden.

It should be considered and not misunderstood that bombing is a tactic, not a strategy. The bomber's leadership does not want to lose its most motivated fighters but needs the increased effectiveness of a fully delivered munition, that's all.

In the fight for Falluja, many jihadists openly ran at Marine positions, smiling and chanting and firing as they ran. The results were predictable. What was unusual was that most wore untightened tourniquets on their arms and legs to continue their attacks after being badly wounded. Life was precious to the jihadists and their leaders and is to be preserved at all costs and death is only the last tactical result, not its goal.

They don't see themselves as suicidal at all. Islam has at least as high a sanctification of life as any religion. They revere the purposed death just like we see the necessity of Jesus' crucifiction. Christinity would not exist without martyrdom. Jihadists believe they strengthen Islam in just the same way.