The Long View

Authored by Michael Pate on October 29th, 2003 at 8:40 PM

And from that experience, terrorists learned important lessons: that terrorism is relatively low-cost and deniable and can yield substantial results at low risk and often without penalty. Terrorism can be a great equalizer — a force multiplier. And terrorism works in the sense that it can terrorize, and even a single attack can influence public opinion and morale and alter the behavior of nations. - Donald Rumsfeld

The attacks did not themselves immediately trigger the withdrawal of the American peace-keeping force from Beirut. Troops stayed in the city until February 1984, with President Reagan insisting that they still had an important job to do. Nonetheless, the attacks undermined the conviction behind Reagan’s policy, and weakened political support in the United States. In addition, Shi’ite Muslim terrorists resorted to the murder and kidnapping of American citizens in Lebanon. Eventually one of these kidnappings proved to be the last straw, and led to Reagan reversing his position and pulling American troops out of Beirut. - Lawrence Freedman

I had watched in great disappointment when we did nothing after the terrorists first attacked the World Trade Center in 1993, killing six and injuring more than 1,000 Americans. - Zell Miller

With regard to Osama bin Laden, in 1998, after the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Africa, President Bill Clinton issued a “presidential finding” authorizing the Central Intelligence Agency to initiate covert operations overseas to foil and, where possible, prevent terrorism by bin Laden’s al Qaeda network. - Daniel Smith

The plan, under which special forces troops would have been sent after Osama bin Laden, was drawn up in the last days of the Clinton administration but a decision was left to the incoming Bush team. - Julian Borger

The top national security officials in the Clinton administration were briefed on it in late December (2000), and they decided because it did involve a relatively aggressive covert action that they should defer to the incoming administration. - Massimo Calabresi

We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide. - George W. Bush

Sh*t, the number of attacks against coalition forces is now at 33 a day (up from the 25 a day average before this week). Of course, we don’t hear about 30-31 of those that don’t result in fatalities. Here is an interesting chart on fatalities in Iraq since the end of the conventional war: - John Robb

The middle, to me, is a recognition that we are strongly committed to Iraq, that we have to succeed for reasons of our own well-being (winning the war on terror), as well as meeting our obligations as an occupying power. - William Swann

It’s interesting. You may have noticed that although people are upset about acts of terrorism this weekend in Russia and Iraq and Pakistan, there were no attacks in the United States. - Glenn Reynolds

Geez, who writes his stuff, Glenn Reynolds? - Ed Cone

There may be a need to redefine our traditional concepts of targets and safe-havens in a protracted struggle where civilians are likely to be not only the objects of terror, but also the subjects perpetrating terror. Terrorists hide and live among civilians, plan among civilians, recruit from civilians, get funding and logistical support from civilians, and train civilians to kill. - Raphael Perl