LOL this is really ironic

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060705/wl_mideast_afp/afplifestylemideast_060705173726

whats next, leather suicide bomber jackets?
can we say "hypocritical"

Nothing hypocritical about it. History has a long tradition of people dressing in the clothes of their defeated enemies. The only thing that makes it different here is that they can buy them instead of taking them by force.

Their reasons for doing so seem pretty well laid out in that article. They even interview one kid who wasn't going to keep his now that he's learned what it meant. I don't really see anything hypocritical about any of it.

Ironic though, i'd say definitely.

[sarcasm]Because as we know --ALL Palestinians are suicide bombers[/sarcasm]

Many of the reasons make sense. They're trying to emulate the political negotiation techniques of the US.

"This is the new fashion in the market," says Shorah. "It's a show of force, because the US army is powerful. It's a symbol of strength and of our refusal to put down arms."

On their television sets these young people see images of US soldiers in Iraq, and they view them as the ultimate symbol of military might.

"People look in the streets and they see gunmen, they watch TV and see the US Army, and they say, 'I want to be a militant, too. I want that shirt,'" says Omar Bilbaysi, who owns three clothing shops in downtown Rafah.

Similarly, Abu Sim, a rank and file gunman in the Popular Resistance Committees' armed wing, has wrapped the barrel of his Kalashnikov with desert camouflage padding, another nod to US military fashion. "I saw a US Marine sniper on TV doing the same thing," he says. "It's natural to copy the US military because they are powerful and so are we."

No - just the ones who kill a lot of people when they blow themselves up.

No - just the ones who kill a lot of people when they blow themselves up.

I was refferring to the ones who say "Death To America" yet are wearing US Army fatigues. Please tell me you see the humor there.

Doesn't stop Bush from wearing military gear while wishing "Death to America"

wow, kendra give it a rest, your almost as bad as Magnum with the "Bush is evil" rehetoric. Your not going to change my mind about his presidency.

Makes sense to me. It is the exact same reason I will be sporting a flowing Burka this fall.

If everybody did this, war would end by default.

Fashion brings to peace to Earth, I can see it now.

Peace on earth and good shoes to all?

Actually there is a long history of adopting the uniforms and clothing styles of powerful armies. In the Middle East especially there has been a long tradition of borrowing your enemy's uniforms when your enemy is more powerful than you. During the Mongol invasions, Arab armies adopted Mongol military clothing. Later the Kings and Dictators of the region wore western style military uniforms. Most still do.

In many cultures, the youth tend to dress in ways which are supposed to be "rebellious". The suburbs in America are full of young Opie Taylor types who co-opt Black inner-city "Thug" culture. The Brits have their "Chavs". Could young Palestinians in fake U.S. military uniforms just another version of thug wannabees?

What would really be ironic is if his buddies thought he was a real US soldier, and ran up and did a suicide bomb on him.

Now that would be freaking ironic.