ABSTRACT
In his influential treatise on war the eminent American political theorist Michael Walzer regards suicide bombings and terrorism as homicidal killing and morally worse than killing in war:
Terrorists are killers on a rampage, except that rampage is not just expressive of rage or madness: the rage is purposeful and programmatic … the peculiar evil of terrorism is not only the killing of innocent people but also intrusion of fear into everyday life, the violation of private purposes, the insecurity of public spaces, the endless coerciveness of precaution.
(Walzer 2004: 51) 1 Walzer’s writings have been very influential in shaping the debate on suicide bombings and bombers in the media. Walzer, however, is not alone in labelling suicide bombings as murderous killing. 2