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Correspondence

Nature 437, 620 (29 September 2005) | doi:10.1038/437620a; Published online 28 September 2005

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Small groups find fatal purpose through the web

Scott Atran1 & Jessica Stern2

  1. CNRS, Institut Jean Nicod, 1 bis Avenue Lowendal, 75007 Paris, France and Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1248, USA
  2. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

Analyses reported in your News story "Psychologists warn of more suicide attacks in the wake of London bombs" (Nature 436, 308–309; 2005) depict suicide terrorism as the result of organized campaigns aimed at achieving clear political goals, such as national liberation.These analyses come from studies of conflicts in areas such as the West Bank and Chechnya, which, although important, may not be applicable to recent attacks.