Israel Quotes by Peter Bergen

Syria is attracting a lot more Westerners than the Iraq War ever did because it's the perfect Sunni jihad.

— Peter Bergen

At one point people in al Qaeda were actually drawing monthly paychecks when they were based in Sudan.

— Peter Bergen

In late May 2016, an ISIS spokesman called for attacks in the West during the month of Ramadan.

— Peter Bergen

Apostasy is a grave crime in Islam and punishable by death in the eyes of members of al Qaeda.

— Peter Bergen

For many terrorists, carrying out an attack allowed them to become the heroes of their own story.

— Peter Bergen

The American incarceration of Sheikh Rahman was a hot-button issue for al Qaeda for many years.

— Peter Bergen

Assad owes his continuation in power to the intervention of Russia in 2015 to prop up his regime.

— Peter Bergen

Before 9/11, al-Qaeda was an organization of global reach.

— Peter Bergen

It is hard to imagine two more final endings to the 'war on terror' than the popular revolts against the authoritarian regimes…

— Peter Bergen

Islam is, to be sure, a big tent, and the one and a half billion Muslims in the world run the gamut…

— Peter Bergen

The centerpiece of the Bush administration's case for going to war in Iraq was Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation to the…

— Peter Bergen

And in the end, bin Laden died in a squalid suburban compound surrounded by his wives and children and far from the…

— Peter Bergen

Certain Gulf Arabs support proxy jihadist Sunni groups such as al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, while Iran supports Shia militant forces such…

— Peter Bergen

The deep problems that afflict the Middle East are not easy to fix, but they must be dealt with if we are…

— Peter Bergen

Keeping a relatively small, predominantly U.S. Special Forces presence in Afghanistan to continue to train the Afghan army past December 2016 is…

— Peter Bergen

Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein brutally repressed all forms of opposition to his regime, and before the Iraq War, al Qaeda had no…

— Peter Bergen

Adding to your list of enemies is never a sound strategy, yet ISIS' ferocious campaign against the Shia, Kurds, Yazidis, Christians, and…

— Peter Bergen

When news of the first plane's hitting the World Trade Center reached them, bin Laden's followers exploded with joy. But shrewder members…

— Peter Bergen

Because of the 9/11 attacks, the framing of terrorism by politicians, the media, and the public too often in the past decade…

— Peter Bergen

Abu Musab al-Suri is someone I got to know pretty well because he's a Syrian. Very bright guy, lived in London. He…

— Peter Bergen

In Syria, a no-fly zone targeted at Assad's air force and safe zones for refugees fleeing the fighting would help tamp down…

— Peter Bergen

Common sense would tell you that the idea that Saudi Arabia was paying for bin Laden's expenses while he was living in…

— Peter Bergen

More than a decade and half after 9/11, U.S. military actions in countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and several other…

— Peter Bergen

Osama bin Laden fervently hoped that attacking the United States would create pressure on American leaders to reduce their support for Middle…

— Peter Bergen

“So the insurgency was born in a perfect storm of American errors--not establishing order; not providing the semblance of any government; confirming…

— Peter Bergen

Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS during his attack, the worst terror attack on American soil since 9/11.

— Peter Bergen

ISIS is even at war with its most natural ally, al Qaeda in Syria.

— Peter Bergen

Bin Laden studied economics and public administration before he turned to a life of jihad.

— Peter Bergen

Ground operations are inherently very risky in Yemen. The two previous JSOC raids in Yemen were both in 2014.

— Peter Bergen

Because 9/11 was carried out by 19 foreign-born Arab hijackers, many assume that all terrorists who attack the West are foreigners.

— Peter Bergen

In the past, Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, of which SEAL Team 6 is a key component, has only launched ground…

— Peter Bergen

The special reverence that al Qaeda had for Sheikh Rahman was underlined by a two-hour propaganda videotape that the group's media division…

— Peter Bergen

Without U.S. forces in the country, there is a strong possibility Afghanistan could host a reinvigorated Taliban allied to a reinvigorated al…

— Peter Bergen

When Abu Zubaydah was shown a series of photos of al Qaeda members by Soufan, he identified one of them as the…

— Peter Bergen

Some might say that that while al Qaeda the organization may be basically dead, its ideology continues to thrive and to inspire…

— Peter Bergen

Western Mosul is the historic heart of one of the oldest cities in the world. Its narrow streets and alleyways are impassable…

— Peter Bergen

Al-Qaeda, which means 'the base' in English, lost its base and training camps in Afghanistan, while its leaders were on the run,…

— Peter Bergen

Bin Laden was intelligent, well-informed, and low key. The people around him treated him with great deference, calling him 'sheikh,' a term…

— Peter Bergen

Sheikh Rahman had a doctorate in Islamic jurisprudence from al-Azhar University in Cairo, the Harvard of Islamic thought. He also had a…

— Peter Bergen

I was the only outsider to visit the Abbottabad compound where bin Laden lived before the Pakistani military demolished it.

— Peter Bergen