--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are two ways that you can go wrong…" description: "\"There are two ways that you can go wrong in our long-term fight against jihadis. One would be to not acknowledge that terrorism and especially jihadi-m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/benjamin-e-sasse-24669_acknowledge_there-are-two-ways-that-you-can-go-wrong_2343267.jpg" --- # There are two ways that you can go wrong in our long-term… ![“There are two ways that you can go wrong in our long-term fight against jihadis. One would be to not acknowledge that terrorism and especially jihadi-motivated terrorism, comes from specific places in the world and is connected to specific ideologies. But another way to fall off a cliff and harm…” quote by Benjamin E. Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/benjamin-e-sasse-24669_acknowledge_there-are-two-ways-that-you-can-go-wrong_2343267.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/benjamin-e-sasse-24669_acknowledge_there-are-two-ways-that-you-can-go-wrong_2343267.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/benjamin-e-sasse-24669_acknowledge_there-are-two-ways-that-you-can-go-wrong_2343267.jpg) > “There are two ways that you can go wrong in our long-term fight against jihadis. One would be to not acknowledge that terrorism and especially jihadi-motivated terrorism, comes from specific places in the world and is connected to specific ideologies. But another way to fall off a cliff and harm our long-term interests would be to imply that the U.S. is at war with Islam.” [Benjamin E. Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-e-sasse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective counter‑terrorism must recognize specific regional and ideological roots, avoiding broad Islam‑wide war narratives. **In simple terms:** Target terrorism’s specific causes, not all Islam. Key Takeaway Focus on precise threats and avoid blanket accusations. Themes terrorism regional dynamics ideological roots Mood strategic critical Type policy analytical When to use this quote - foreign policy planning - intelligence analysis - public diplomacy Key Concepts counterterrorism policy geopolitics religious nuance Questions to Reflect On - How can policies address specific threats without stigmatizing a religion? - What safeguards prevent broad war narratives? A Different Perspective Oversimplification can alienate allies and fuel radicalization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acknowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acknowledge/) [Acknowledge Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acknowledge-terrorism-1630393/) [Another way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-way/) [Cliffs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliffs/) [Connected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connected/) [Especially Jihadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/especially-jihadi-5678674/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Fight Jihadis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-jihadis-5678672/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Jihadi Motivated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jihadi-motivated-5678673/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-term/) [Motivated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivated/) [Motivated Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivated-terrorism-2587088/) [Places in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/places-in-the-world/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Two ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-ways/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [We are familiar with terrorism. 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And every American, regardless of who you voted for, if you voted for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Donald Duck,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-e-sasse/the-president-is-the-president-and-every-american-regardless-of-who/) [Benjamin E. Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-e-sasse/) > [ Let's be clear: Has the U.S. ever made any mistakes? Of course.Is the U.S. at all like \[Vladimir\] Putin's regime? Not at all. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-e-sasse/let-s-be-clear-has-the-u-s-ever-made-any-mistakes-of-course-is-the-u/) [Benjamin E. Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-e-sasse/) > [ \[Vladimir\] Putin is an enemy of the free press. The U.S. celebrates free press. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-e-sasse/vladimir-putin-is-an-enemy-of-the-free-press-the-u-s-celebrates-free/) [Benjamin E. 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