[The terrorists] appear, and we've let them fill this vacuum that's the Internet without any push back. This has not been like a political campaign where immediately there's some response and an effort to take their message and spin it in a different direction. |
All these defense firms have already, since the cold war, been diversifying. The public expectations for security are so high now that even avenues that may not have been pursued before have to be investigated. |
Almost like our minutemen during the American Revolution, [they're] people with a weapon who were available at a moment's notice to be summoned to battle. |
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. |
Because we still lack a clear picture of the insurgency, we can't assess the full import of this development. |
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. |
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. |
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 could be coincidence. It's an extraordinarily short turnaround — it's impossible to say at this point. |
It could be that because we were vigilant, because we were on guard, because of the warnings we issued, it deterred the terrorists, |
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. |
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, |
It may be that the Sinai Peninsula is [Egypt's] Achilles' heel. [Terrorist groups have] gone up and down the coast and hit the main tourist resorts. |
It's enormously tempting to speculate ... without knowing where he is, it's impossible to say. |