The incomprehensible attacks on Paris

The simultaneous attacks in Paris this week are hard to comprehend. It is hard to get inside the minds of the perpetrators, the suicide bombers and assassins, who go in to kill people unknown to them, for no clear reasons, with no objectives or benefits in mind. At present we don't know who these perpetrators were. The media blames ISIS, but they were individuals, most likely young men who grew up in France, who were educated in France, and enjoyed the tolerant liberal culture of France. How could they decide to sacrifice their lives for a vague cause like establishing the Caliphate in Europe? I am looking for parallels in recent European history. In the 1970s the Red Army faction, also popularly know as the Baader – Meinhof Gang even after the death of both Baader and Meinhof, terrorized Europe. They were held responsible for 34 deaths, numerous kidnappings and 296 bomb attacks. Their target was predominantly Germany that covered up its Nazi past, where former highly placed Nazis continued to hold public office and wield power, and supported American policy that they considered imperialist, including the Vietnam war, the support for the Shah of Persia and support for many African and Latin American dictators. Some of the members of the Red Army Faction were trained by Palestinian groups and identified with the fate of Palestinians. One of their leader, Horst Mahler, is a vocal Neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier to this day. The Red Army Faction was a movement hard to understand in its time, and it was impossible to get inside the minds of the perpetrators of their crimes, but at least people had an inkling of their objectives. The terrorism of the the decades between early 1970s and late 1990s in Europe created mayhem, but the perpetrators were clearly identified, their cause, however misguided, was fairly clear. The current attacks on Paris by unknown individuals, belonging to no movement that claims responsibility for the atrocity, with no clear objectives is beyond comprehension.