Studies by Israelis (who have tonnes of captured Pakistani terrorists) have shown terrorists are often from well-off backgrounds (but from a poor country), and otherwise "good" people (empathic, sense of social responsibility, etc). If your country is poor, and you happen to be from a privileged background, you might feel the need to give something back. If your community believes that "martyrs" are good, then terrorism is an option.
And yes, they do tend to be 20-year-old males. Others can be poor, and unlikely to be able to get a girlfriend or wife.
Its not about desperate individuals, but a desperate community. The communities are often desperate because of poor governance, but you can't unilaterally bring good governance to the Middle East (or any other region).
Actually, there's a lot of reasons why communities are desperate. But a lot of those are hard problems, which are taking time to solve.
You raise a fascinating point about what happens to societies when the males have no chance of getting a girlfriend or wife (they may become destructive because they aren't stakeholders).
I wonder what will happen in China as their "need" for male heirs continue to drive their one-child family planning (not to mention infanticide and abandonment leading to out-of-country adoption).
There's a wave of young, unmarried men in China now, but it's not nearly as bad as the pre-revolutionary times when polygamy was rampant.
At the moment, men are marrying later than women, and chasing overseas brides. Brides sometimes come from Vietnam, where the girls outnumber boys and the culture is somewhat similar; also men occasionally marry African women, as China is now doing more business there; though there's a hell of a lot of racism in China towards anyone with darker skin than average. Also, men are expected to buy a house and car before marriage, which isn't great for men from poorer families (the boys parents usually foot the bill, as few men in their 20s can buy a house). Actually, the costs of male children is starting to reduce the prejudice a bit.
It will raise the crime rate, and cause social disorder (young unmarried men are the kind of people who throw molotov cocktails at authorities - and no authority wants that). China knows this, and has softened the one-child policy a lot. Women used to be forced to abort subsequent pregnancies; now they are more likely to face a fine. Also, prostitution is widespread.
And yes, they do tend to be 20-year-old males. Others can be poor, and unlikely to be able to get a girlfriend or wife.
Its not about desperate individuals, but a desperate community. The communities are often desperate because of poor governance, but you can't unilaterally bring good governance to the Middle East (or any other region).
Actually, there's a lot of reasons why communities are desperate. But a lot of those are hard problems, which are taking time to solve.