--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There isn't a clear goal in sight. Osama…" description: "\"There isn't a clear goal in sight. Osama bin Laden's organization has spun out from him and is now probably independent of him. There will be others wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/edward-said-6412_bin-laden_there-isn-t-a-clear-goal-in-sight-osama_1731431.jpg" --- # There isn't a clear goal in sight. Osama bin Laden's… ![“There isn't a clear goal in sight. Osama bin Laden's organization has spun out from him and is now probably independent of him. There will be others who will appear and reappear. This is why we need a much more precise, a much more defined, a much more patiently constructed campaign, as well as…” quote by Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/edward-said-6412_bin-laden_there-isn-t-a-clear-goal-in-sight-osama_1731431.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/edward-said-6412_bin-laden_there-isn-t-a-clear-goal-in-sight-osama_1731431.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/edward-said-6412_bin-laden_there-isn-t-a-clear-goal-in-sight-osama_1731431.jpg) > “There isn't a clear goal in sight. Osama bin Laden's organization has spun out from him and is now probably independent of him. There will be others who will appear and reappear. This is why we need a much more precise, a much more defined, a much more patiently constructed campaign, as well as one that surveys not just the terrorists' presence but the root causes of terrorism, which are ascertainable.” [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) ## 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 requires precise, well‑defined strategies that address both terrorist actions and underlying causes. **In simple terms:** Targeted, thoughtful plans fight terrorism better than vague efforts. Key Takeaway Focus on clear, data‑driven campaigns. Themes terrorism strategy policy root causes Mood analytical serious Type policy strategic When to use this quote - government planning - law enforcement - community outreach - education programs Key Concepts counter‑terrorism systems thinking political analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance immediate threats with long‑term root cause work? - What data best reveal underlying causes? A Different Perspective Complex geopolitical factors may limit precise targeting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Campaigns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaigns/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Precise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precise/) [Root cause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/root-cause/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism/) ## Related quotes > [Osama bin Laden's organization has spun out from him and is now probably independent of him. There will be others who will appear and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/osama-bin-laden-s-organization-has-spun-out-from-him-and-is-now/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [It just seems terrorists have an open blanket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/it-just-seems-terrorists-have-an-open-blanket/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [If you're going to fight terrorism, to me, you fight the root causes of terrorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/if-you-re-going-to-fight-terrorism-to-me-you-fight-the-root-causes-of/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [I believe terrorism cannot be won over by military action. Terrorism must be condemned in the strongest language. We must stand solidly against it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/i-believe-terrorism-cannot-be-won-over-by-military-action-terrorism/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [True terrorism, you know, weaponized fear. In defense of ourselves, we're fighting - actively fighting something else. But if you're going to fight terrorism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/true-terrorism-you-know-weaponized-fear-in-defense-of-ourselves-we-re/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [We need to tackle the underlying causes of both terrorism and the refugee crisis in the medium to long term if we are to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-kishida/we-need-to-tackle-the-underlying-causes-of-both-terrorism-and-the/) [Fumio Kishida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-kishida/) > [In some places, there's the concept of one religion, one truth. In the Muslim world, there's the notion of Allah. The Western, multireligious modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/in-some-places-there-s-the-concept-of-one-religion-one-truth-in-the/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Tightening up border and immigration controls go nowhere in addressing the underlying causes of terrorism in our society and in our world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcdonnell/tightening-up-border-and-immigration-controls-go-nowhere-in/) [John McDonnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcdonnell/) > [“Given that there is no factual evidence to support the neo-Patais’ argument that sexual deprivation causes terrorism, it might be more useful to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-bradley/given-that-there-is-no-factual-evidence-to-support-the-neo-patais/) [John R. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-bradley/) > [The real causes of terrorism are not poverty and oppression per se, but rather the bankruptcy of materialist ideologies, like Neo-Conservatism, which promise much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dickson-crane/the-real-causes-of-terrorism-are-not-poverty-and-oppression-per-se/) Robert Dickson Crane > [The root causes of terrorism is terrorists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-poilievre/the-root-causes-of-terrorism-is-terrorists/) [Pierre Poilievre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-poilievre/) > [Your ability to discipline yourself to set clear goals, and then to work toward them every day, will do more to guarantee your success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/your-ability-to-discipline-yourself-to-set-clear-goals-and-then-to/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Active questions are the alternative to passive questions. There is a huge difference between, 'Do you have clear goals?' and 'Did you do your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-goldsmith/active-questions-are-the-alternative-to-passive-questions-there-is-a/) [Marshall Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-goldsmith/) > [All good performance starts with clear goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-blanchard/all-good-performance-starts-with-clear-goals/) [Ken Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-blanchard/) > [“What matters are five key norms,” he told the audience. Teams need to believe that their work is important. Teams need to feel their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/what-matters-are-five-key-norms-he-told-the-audience-teams-need-to/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) ## More by Edward Said > [Beginning is not only a kind of action. It is also a frame of mind, a kind of work, an attitude, a consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/beginning-is-not-only-a-kind-of-action-it-is-also-a-frame-of-mind-a/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [It's very hard, for example, to justify the thirty-four-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It's very hard to justify 140 Israeli settlements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/it-s-very-hard-for-example-to-justify-the-thirty-four-year-occupation/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ \[9/11\] was bloody-minded destruction for no other reason than to do it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/9-11-was-bloody-minded-destruction-for-no-other-reason-than-to-do-it/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Look at situations as contingent, not as inevitable, look at them as the result of a series of historical choices made by men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/look-at-situations-as-contingent-not-as-inevitable-look-at-them-as/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I was one of the first people in the Palestinian world, in the late 1970s, to say that there is no military option, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-was-one-of-the-first-people-in-the-palestinian-world-in-the-late/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Take a young man from Gaza living in the most horrendous conditions - most of it imposed by Israel - who straps dynamite around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/take-a-young-man-from-gaza-living-in-the-most-horrendous-conditions/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ \[One task of intellectuals is\] to break down the stereotypes and reductive categories that are . . . limiting to human thought and communication. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/one-task-of-intellectuals-is-to-break-down-the-stereotypes-and/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I have never known what is Arabic or English, or which one was really mine beyond any doubt. What I do know, however, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-have-never-known-what-is-arabic-or-english-or-which-one-was-really/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/every-single-empire-in-its-official-discourse-has-said-that-it-is-not/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ The just response to this terrible event \[9/11\] should be to go immediately to the world community, the United Nations. The rule of international… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/the-just-response-to-this-terrible-event-9-11-should-be-to-go/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Since when does a militarily occupied people have the responsibility for a peace movement?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/since-when-does-a-militarily-occupied-people-have-the-responsibility/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Refuse to allow yourself to become a vegetable that simply absorbs information, pre-packaged, pre-ideologized , because no message.. is anything but an ideological package…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/refuse-to-allow-yourself-to-become-a-vegetable-that-simply-absorbs/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [No cause, no God, no abstract idea can justify the mass slaughter of innocents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/no-cause-no-god-no-abstract-idea-can-justify-the-mass-slaughter-of/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [What we must eliminate are systems of representation that carry with them the authority which has become repressive because it doesn't permit or make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/what-we-must-eliminate-are-systems-of-representation-that-carry-with/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Part of the main plan of imperialism... is that we will give you your history, we will write it for you, we will re-order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/part-of-the-main-plan-of-imperialism-is-that-we-will-give-you-your/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) [Explore all 97 Edward Said quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) ## More Bin laden quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I wasn’t like, boo hoo, Bin Laden’s dead, but I wasn’t jumping. America’s a very nationalistic country, and in episodes like that of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scahill/i-wasn-t-like-boo-hoo-bin-laden-s-dead-but-i-wasn-t-jumping-america-s/) [Jeremy Scahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scahill/) > [R.I.P Osama Bin Laden - World Hide And Go Seek Champion (2001 - 2011)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/r-i-p-osama-bin-laden-world-hide-and-go-seek-champion-2001-2011/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “\[to Navy SEALs\] Quite frankly, I didn't even want to use you guys, with your dip and velcro and all your gear bullshit. I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-owen/to-navy-seals-quite-frankly-i-didn-t-even-want-to-use-you-guys-with/) [Mark Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-owen/) > [I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Chanukah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-couldn-t-imagine-somebody-like-osama-bin-laden-understanding-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [What makes me angry'is that it wasn't me who revealed that I had been with Osama Bin Laden. I originally denied being involved with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/what-makes-me-angry-is-that-it-wasn-t-me-who-revealed-that-i-had-been/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [Taylor Gang or Die. Obviously Bin Laden didn't choose Taylor Gang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-gang/taylor-gang-or-die-obviously-bin-laden-didn-t-choose-taylor-gang/) [Taylor Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-gang/) > [Osama Bin Laden is dead. Killed not by a massive troop deployment but by a commando raid carried out by a few dozen highly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/osama-bin-laden-is-dead-killed-not-by-a-massive-troop-deployment-but/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [“New Rule: The White House doesn't have to release the dead Bin Laden photos, but don't pretend we can't take it. We've seen pictures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-the-white-house-doesn-t-have-to-release-the-dead-bin-laden/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [With Benghazi, I don't see anyone saying, 'Hey look, I am overall responsible for this and therefore, I take responsibility for what happened. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocko-willink/with-benghazi-i-don-t-see-anyone-saying-hey-look-i-am-overall/) [Jocko Willink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocko-willink/) > [The twin causes Bin Laden invokes are Islam and Arab self-determination, and armies rise to serve him. No need to convert or dogmatize. Believers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/the-twin-causes-bin-laden-invokes-are-islam-and-arab-self/) [Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/) > [Wafah Dufour bin Laden, niece of Osama bin Laden has signed a contract to star in a reality show... called Skating with the Nieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/wafah-dufour-bin-laden-niece-of-osama-bin-laden-has-signed-a-contract/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [“It can certainly be misleading to take the attributes of a movement, or the anxieties and contradictions of a moment, and to personalize or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-can-certainly-be-misleading-to-take-the-attributes-of-a-movement/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [None of us, remember, knew that 9/11 was gonna happen. We didn't live in a state of anxiety and fear about Osama Bin Laden.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-lewis/none-of-us-remember-knew-that-9-11-was-gonna-happen-we-didn-t-live-in/) [Damian Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-lewis/) > [Many of us didn't believe in the image of bin Laden as a wandering Old Man of the Mountains, living on plants and insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/many-of-us-didn-t-believe-in-the-image-of-bin-laden-as-a-wandering/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) Browse all 566 Bin laden quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There isn't a clear goal in sight. Osama bin Laden's organization has spun out from him and is now probably independent of him. There will be others who will appear and reappear. 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