BBC: The Virginia Five, currently imprisoned in Pakistan, the Nigerian "underpants bomber" whose name everyone - including President Obama - is stumbling over; the Jordanian doctor who turned out to be a double agent with a suicide vest in a CIA compound in Afghanistan; what do they all have in common apart from a profound hatred of America and its allies?
They are all the products of relative prosperity and higher education. After all, Osama Bin Laden and his deputy also came from a privileged background.
None of the recent suspects are high school drop-outs or desperate refugees who have nurtured hatred of the West in the frayed lining of an empty stomach.
None have had to watch relatives die in stray American bomb attacks. They have all had a lot to lose and yet they were prepared to lose their own lives for a cause.
So, what makes the 23-year-old son of a prominent Nigerian banker pack his underpants with explosives in pursuit of martyrdom? >>> Matt Frei, BBC News, Washington | Thursday, January 07, 2010
