Since the 2 MSN team members were snatched in Gaza I've been thinking about this question. Think about it a minute (yeah..I know...thinking beyond yourself is hard for some folks but hey...you can try)......

Hardcore terrorists are usually associated with an Islamic Extremist sect and have been indoctrinated since they could understand words. Its easy in a society that places Religion in front of everythig else, followed by family loyalty, then tribal loyalty and finally other human beings and farm animals. Actually, in an Islamic Extremeist society religion comes first and there is no second place that is not strictly dictated by the religious leaders. Children are raised to one day fight and kill infidels. They have a sick kind of hero worship for the men who went before them on "martyrdom" missions. For them its is the greatest thing they could ever do. In America we have nothing like it. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head similar to this indoctrination was that of the Hitler Youth Corp. It is total and it is complete.

Now, the guys that took the MSN people were young and acted in a manner that terrorists tend to avoid. They struck at media...media that they need to publish their exploits and media they need to expose the plight of the innocent people they supposedly work to help. They also made the reporters convert to Islam at gun point....not something usually done. Captives are encouraged to convert so that should they die they have a chance to enter heaven or should they live that another follower of Allah walks the earth but not forced to convert as the conversion has no meaning if it is not of free will.

So the question in my mind is, has this form of "lesser terrorism" become something that is considered "cool" among younger people in the region.....sort of a 'rite of passage' if you will. There are hundreds of pictures of children throwing stones at Israeli tanks...displaying their courage. I wonder if some of those children, who are now teens and young adults, haven't elevated their little displays of courage to new levels. Time will tell.