Bruce Hoffman Quotations

Al-Qaeda's obituary has been written countless times over the decade. Each iteration has proved to be ephemeral, as the moment has continually shown itself to have a deeper bench than we imagine.

I think this is one of the major challenges that we face in the U.S. The major incidents in the U.S. have not conformed to our stereotype of an established terror organization attacking a major iconic landmark.

One of the most ignored dimensions of the Iraqi insurgency are the Iraqis themselves who are regularly abducted, held for ransom and sometimes executed.

With the exception of weapons of mass destruction, there is no other type of attack that is more effective than suicide terrorism. The perception is that it's impossible to guard against.

It could be coincidence. It's an extraordinarily short turnaround it's impossible to say at this point.

One of the problems with the kill-or-capture metric is that it has often been to the exclusion of having a deeper, richer understanding of the movement, its origins, and our adversaries' mindset. The nuances are absolutely critical. Our adversaries are wedded to the ideology that informs and fuels their struggle, and, by not paying attention, we risk not knowing our enemy.

So, in other words, all the lessons that they're learning on how to attack the United States are being communicated and shared not only throughout Iraq but with insurgents and terrorists throughout the world.

We may be setting up new TV and radio stations, and that's fine, but ... they're getting their information from the Internet.

We may actually have 24 or 25 guys when it's all said and done,

He knows the terrain, he knows the problems and he understands the solutions. He's bringing the right vision, but this is the vision that should've been brought three years ago.

It could be that because we were vigilant, because we were on guard, because of the warnings we issued, it deterred the terrorists,

It could be coincidence. It's an extraordinarily short turnaround it's impossible to say at this point.

I think this is one of the major challenges that we face in the U.S.. The major incidents in the U.S. have not conformed to our stereotype of an established terror organization attacking a major iconic landmark.

It is not to say we are completely defenseless, because the Israelis have shown you can counter suicide bombings. But shouldn't have unrealistic expectations that you can prevent all attacks,

terrorists can still accomplish their basic aims of fear and intimidation just as well by using entirely conventional weapons -- the gun and the bomb.

It doesn't really give us any more indication of whether this was a plot that was derailed or preempted, or a plot that was more in the realm of an idle daydream.

It is exactly the strategy of the terrorists to create a vacuum of disorder and lawlessness, and the way to do that is to attempt to eliminate precisely the dedicated civil servants like the prime minister, the president and the senior members of the interim government.

That's the insurgent strategy, this pervasive insecurity. You can't fight against an unseen enemy.

We still have difficulty imagining women as killers rather than as mothers,

Could anyone imagine it would be more perilous than it is today? The prospect of civil war is looming much larger than at any time in the past.

There's absolutely no doubt that executing him would turn him into a martyr.

It's enormously tempting to speculate ... without knowing where he is, it's impossible to say.

It's like Sun Tzu, the Chinese strategist, said years ago. Only if you know your enemy can you win the battle.

They are the terrorists' trump card -- and our Achilles' heel.

Because we still lack a clear picture of the insurgency, we can't assess the full import of this development.

These kidnappings represent a significant gap in the country's security and undermine public confidence in the ability of both Iraqi government and coalition forces to maintain order and protect Iraqi citizens from violence - whether insurgent or criminal.

And that becomes the justification or the rationale for violence. Often attached to that or married to that is the catharsis of violence, in other words, the satisfaction they feel of the David against a Goliath, the weak striking out against the powerful.