POR MUCHO QUE las conclusiones precocinadas de la cumbre sobre terrorismo celebrada en Madrid el mes pasado lo afirmaran una y otra vez, lo cierto es que el terrorismo no tiene que ver con la pobreza:

"The typical recruit to al-Qaeda is Western-educated and has a wealthy, professional background, according to a new study.

"The analysis of 500 members of Osama bin Laden's organisation has turned Western experts' presumptions about al-Qa'ida upside down.

"Marc Sageman, a forensic psychiatrist who conducted the study, said he assumed it would find that most recruits were poor and ill-educated. 'The common stereotype is that terrorism is a product of poor, desperate, naive, single young men from Third World countries, vulnerable to brainwashing and recruitment into terror,' he said.

"However, his study showed 75per cent of the al-Qaeda members were from upper-middle-class homes and that many were married with children; 60 were college-educated, often in Europe or the US.

"Some, such as British-born terrorist Omar Sheikh, were educated at fee-paying schools before heading for Afghanistan, Bosnia or Chechnya...

"Dr Sageman said most of the terrorists came from a small number of wealthy Arab countries, from immigrant communities in the West or from Southeast Asia. Few were from poor Islamic countries such as Afghanistan...

"He said most grew up in caring families concerned about their communities. The men in Dr Sageman's sample joined al-Qaeda at an average age of 26. About half grew up as religious children, but only 13 - mostly from Southeast Asia - attended Islamic schools."

Como siempre, los expertos que peroran sobre las causas del terrorismo, y la necesidad de comprenderlas, cubriéndose de gloria. Lo peor es que cuando uno equivoca el diagnóstico, también yerra en su dictamen de lo que se debe hacer; menos mal que a estas alturas poca gente -fuera de esa burbuja onanísticomental que es la intelligentzia- les hace demasiado caso.

Por cierto, el post al que enlazo es de Arthur Chrenkoff, que celebró la semana pasada el primer aniversario de su blog. Como yo estaba a medio gas -bitacóricamente hablando- no lo señalé entonces; lo hago ahora, y complacido por la existencia, y la amistad, de uno de los mejores blogs angloparlantes.