London Bombers May Have Been Dupes

Well, of course they were dupes, but the question is whether or not they intended to commit suicide. The British are very concerned following last week's bombings that a new breed of suicide bomber has emerged from their citizenry. However, experts are beginning to wonder if perhaps the four guys who blew themselves up were in fact not planning to commit suicide, but were duped into carrying the bombs onto the trains and bus which were then set off remotely:

Here is the evidence: They bought return railway tickets. Their bombs were not strapped to their bodies but carried in knapsacks as if to be left behind on the trains. None of them was heard to shout the customary ''Allah Akhbar'' before the bombs exploded. Unusually for suicide bombers, they left identification on their bodies. And surveillance videotapes show them laughing and joking casually -- rather than grimly determined or prayerful -- as they caught the Underground train.

These little pieces of circumstantial evidence suggest the possibility the bombers were duped. Maybe they were told by their controllers that the bombs were timed to go off five minutes after being detonated rather than immediately. It would not be the first time that al-Qaida had deceived its devotees: Osama bin Laden revealed that not all the 9/11 hijackers were aware that the planes were to be flown into buildings. And the bombers' ''suicide'' would protect the terrorist network against the chance that they might be caught and persuaded to talk.

This is no more than a theory. It may never be conclusively established or disproved. But it is a tempting theory because the British authorities find the prospect of suicide bombing so terrifying.

Like the U.S. authorities, they fear that bombers who don't have to plan an escape route (because they will be dead) cannot be deterred. If they were born and brought up in Britain, they cannot easily be detected. And if they exist in even modest numbers in Muslim and immigrant communities, they will pose an insuperable security threat. These fears are reasonable. But we should not terrify ourselves by exaggerating them. Israel has succeeded in greatly reducing the extent and success of suicide terrorism by good intelligence, by penetrating the terrorist groups, and by focusing attention less on the suicide bombers than on the networks required to sustain them and the surrounding community from which they come.

The pool of potential suicide bombers is not vast. It consists of radical Muslims who are brave and dim. Reluctant though we may be to admit the fact, it undoubtedly requires courage to blow oneself up. To kill oneself and innocent passersby, however, in the belief that God will reward you with Paradise and instant Playboy centerfolds, suggests a silliness of epic proportions.

But courage and stupidity are still not enough for suicide bombing. You have to be psyched up for it. The testimony of failed suicide bombers reveals that a network of persuaders constantly reinforces their loyalty -- and not just that. Every bomber is shepherded by large numbers of recruiters, trainers, explosives experts, ''mentors,'' and controllers to direct their crime. Remove even one link in this chain and the entire apparatus has to be built again in an atmosphere of fear.

You may recall that it was thought that some of the 9/11 hijackers possibly didn't know they were going to be committing suicide that day, but may have thought they were just there to provide muscle in a 'money for hostages' type of hijacking. We'll never know.

For the sake of the British, and for us Yanks, let's hope the pool of willing suicide bombers is very, very small.