Militancy used for power, report says

EL CERRITO, Calif., Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Power and financial reward may be attracting recruits to militant ideologies in the Middle East as an alternative to scarce conventional options, analysts say.

A report by the conservative American Thinker online magazine points to boredom and lack of opportunity as the driving force behind the lure of militant ideologies expressed throughout the Middle East.

The report says several Palestinian militant groups, for example, "cloak" their desire for power and wealth in political reform or religious principles. These groups, however, "are little more than gangsters" who exploit systemic inadequacies in emerging societies.

Entering a militant group, much like gang life in the urban communities of the United States, offers an alternative route to success that may not be otherwise available, the report says. Exploiting their positions as "liberation movements" only undermines the chance for national economic recovery.

The established leadership in Palestine, Lebanon and throughout the Middle East should push hard for economic reform to offer disenfranchised youth the ability to play an active and constructive role in society, the report says.