Afghan Forces Little Sister to Wear Bomb Vest

This is a sad story, and the details may give clues to what actually lead to this shameful act.

Before we go any further, does anyone recall the days when we were assured by academicians and they who craft the official positions on terror attacks, that the 1983 Beirut truck bombing of the Marine barracks had nothing to do with a suicide attack?

That is no joke. In a move that echoed the official consensus at the time of the Kamikaze attacks in the waning days of WWII (They were drug addicts- we were told), it was said that the driver of the truck had been told (no evidence - not even a brief statement from anyone, was given to support this) that a firing switch had been placed under his seat and that his family would be harmed if he did not drive the truck to the desired location.

Now, a firing switch under the seat of the attacker is a common-sense move in case the bad guy is shot and killed before reaching his target (that was at least some of the targets may be killed), but we were fed a host of false conclusions over this one fact.

Of course the suicide/vest bomb attacks that would come to be almost commonplace in Israel prior to the West Bank security wall (and later in Iraq) later put these claims to rest, but the damage had been done in the minds of many Americans.-

"There are no real Muslim suicide bombers" was the refrain from the ignorant ones who fancied themselves so much smarter than the rest of us.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10554481/Afghan-girl-found-with-suicide-vest-after-brother-convinces-her-to-attack.html

"An Afghan girl believed to be about 10-years-old was caught in Helmand province wearing a bomb vest after her brother encouraged her to carry out a suicide attack, police officials said.

The girl, named as Spogmai, had been convinced to attack border police after male relatives accused her of having “illicit relations” with officers, according to reports.

She was strapped into a bomb harness by one of her elder brothers and sent across a river to her target, in southern Helmand.
However Spogmai began crying with cold while crossing the river and her brother, a suspected Taliban commander called Zahir, fled according to the Pajhwok news agency.

Some reports said she was still wearing the vest when she handed herself in to the police and others said Zahir took it with him.

Col Hamidullah Siddique said the attack had happened in Khan Neshin district in the south of Helmand province, and Spogmai had turned herself in to police there.

He said Zahir was yet to be arrested and Spogmai had requested them not to send her back home, fearing family reprisals.

She told reporters her brother had been harassing her with the allegation she had “illicit relations” with police......."The reference to "illicit relations" may very well mean far more than mere false accusations (not to mention pressuring to commit a suicide attack) by a male relative, which of course is horrific in and of itself. What I am picking up is that the victim had been sexually assaulted and then given a way out to redeem herself for being "shamed" .

I recall reading several reports (one below)from the period following the toppling of Saddam Hussein in which rapes were deliberately committed against certain young girls in order that the victims could then be groomed for suicide attacks. This was sold to the victim as a means to bring honor back to themselves and their families for the crime of being raped. 

I don't recall any reports of  fathers running out of the house and calling the cops or killing the perpetrators, but that is an aside. 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/news/iraq-suicide-bomb-queen-arranged-rapes/story-e6frg6tx-1111118763398

"THE arrest of a woman suspected of grooming rape victims to become female suicide bombers in Iraq has dealt a blow to the network of extremists that orchestrates such attacks, a senior Iraqi official said.

Samira Ahmed Jassim, 51, is accused of recruiting more than 80 women to become human bombs, including 28 who actually carried out attacks.

She has apparently confessed to helping to organise the rape of young Iraqi women.

She would then play on the shame associated with victims of rape in Iraqi society to convince the women to become suicide bombers as their only means of escape..............

Women are able to bypass the many checkpoints across the country, which are typically watched by male guards. Social rules prevent men from frisking women...........

The traditional black robes worn by Muslim women are ideal for concealing an explosives vest. Jassim, who is wearing long, black robes and a headscarf, is shown in the video apparently confessing to recruiting and training women to become bombers. She also described how she would escort the women to an orchard for insurgent training....."