Terrorists on a String

If the Quran forbids the faithful from killing themselves, how much more heinous a sin would it be if they killed themselves without taking any American infidels with them?

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Twenty-three terror suspects tried to hang or strangle themselves at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay during a mass protest in 2003, the military confirmed Monday.

The incidents came during the same year the camp suffered a rash of suicide attempts after Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller took command of the prison with a mandate to get more information from prisoners accused of links to Al Qaeda or the ousted Afghan Taliban regime that sheltered it.

Between Aug. 18 and Aug. 26, the 23 detainees tried to hang or strangle themselves with pieces of clothing and other items in their cells, demonstrating "self-injurious behavior," the U.S. Southern Command in Miami said in a statement. Ten detainees made a mass attempt on Aug. 22 alone.

This is why taking Usama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zwahiri, Mullah Mohammed Omar, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi alive would be such a propaganda victory. This behavior, if properly publicized in the Middle East, would be a pretty tangible public relations defeat for the enemy.