A terrorism expert took center stage in Fisk Hall on Monday night.
“Suicide terrorism is the lung cancer of terrorism – it is the biggest killer in its category,” national security expert Robert Pape told approximately 60 NU students in a lecture Monday.
The University of Chicago political science professor discussed patterns in suicide terrorist attacks around the world in a lecture sponsored by the Northwestern Political Union and the Model Arab League.
Weinberg junior Nora Gannon said she attended the lecture because she was interested in the topic and wanted to hear more speakers on campus.
“He’s an expert in his field, so I thought, ‘How could it not be a good talk?'” she said.
Pape and his team have compiled a database of suicide attacks around the world since 1980 when they discovered the U.S. government did not begin to track them until after the 9/11 attacks. Pape presented the findings in a book co-written with James K. Feldman titled “Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It,” which was published last fall.
“His book is pretty controversial,” said Alisa Romney, a Weinberg senior and president of the Model Arab League. “He has a very interesting thesis about how global suicide terrorism works and how we stop it.”
There were about 300 suicide attacks around in the world during the last 12 months, said Pape, founder of the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism. The increase in suicide terrorism correlates to increased U.S. occupation, he said, citing Afghanistan and Iraq as examples. Reducing foreign military occupation is the best way to decrease suicide attacks, he said.
Weinberg senior Ben Armstrong, the co-president of the Northwestern Political Union, said the topic was relevant given the current state of U.S. politics. The lecture was even more relevant because Pape’s findings were presented to Congress and the U.S. Navy adopted one of his policy prescriptions, Armstrong, a former Daily Public Editor, said.
Pape led a question-and-answer session after the lecture, followed by a reception at the Buffet Center for International and Comparative Studies.
The lecture covers a controversial but important issue, Romney said.
“This is unique on campus because not many groups are willing to tackle such a divisive and emotionally-infused issue,” she said.
