--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were no international terrorists in…" description: "\"There were no international terrorists in Iraq until we went in. It was we who gave the perfect conditions in which Al Qaeda could thrive.\" — Robin Cook" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/robin-cook-25575_conditions_there-were-no-international-terrorists-i_1996731.png" --- # There were no international terrorists in Iraq until we… ![“There were no international terrorists in Iraq until we went in. It was we who gave the perfect conditions in which Al Qaeda could thrive.” quote by Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/robin-cook-25575_conditions_there-were-no-international-terrorists-i_1996731.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/robin-cook-25575_conditions_there-were-no-international-terrorists-i_1996731.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/robin-cook-25575_conditions_there-were-no-international-terrorists-i_1996731.png) > “There were no international terrorists in Iraq until we went in. It was we who gave the perfect conditions in which Al Qaeda could thrive.” [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He claims that the presence of foreign troops created conditions that allowed terrorism to flourish in Iraq. **In simple terms:** Foreign presence can unintentionally foster terrorism. Key Takeaway Consider unintended consequences of interventions. Themes war terrorism intervention Mood critical analytical Type political historical When to use this quote - military deployment - foreign policy analysis - counterterrorism planning Key Concepts blowback security vacuum policy failure Questions to Reflect On - What alternative factors contributed to terrorism’s rise? - How can interventions be designed to minimize blowback? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies complex causes of terrorism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Perfect conditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-conditions/) ## Related quotes > [I went to Kuwait, Baghdad, you know all through Iraq. I went to Qatar, Afghanistan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wall/i-went-to-kuwait-baghdad-you-know-all-through-iraq-i-went-to-qatar/) [Paul Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wall/) > [There were no terrorists in Iraq. There's never been an Iraqi terrorist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-evans/there-were-no-terrorists-in-iraq-there-s-never-been-an-iraqi-terrorist/) [Jodie Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-evans/) > [There was never a recorded Iraqi terrorists in the last 20 years in any terrorist attack. There were no terrorists in Iraq until we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-evans/there-was-never-a-recorded-iraqi-terrorists-in-the-last-20-years-in/) [Jodie Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-evans/) > [We'll fight terrorists in Iraq, we'll fight them across the world, and we will stay in the fight until the fight is won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-ll-fight-terrorists-in-iraq-we-ll-fight-them-across-the-world-and/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [In the years since 9/11, more terrorists have been created through this President's policies than were captured or killed. There weren't any terrorists in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pascrell/in-the-years-since-9-11-more-terrorists-have-been-created-through/) [Bill Pascrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pascrell/) > [Undoubtedly, the U.S. harbors leading international terrorists, people described by the F.B.I. and the Justice Department as leading terrorists, like Orlando Bosch, now Posada…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/undoubtedly-the-u-s-harbors-leading-international-terrorists-people/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [International terrorists who pursue completely mad objectives such as establishing a world caliphate or something of the sort, are quite adept at disguising their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/international-terrorists-who-pursue-completely-mad-objectives-such-as/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [You will not kill my girlfriend today, International Terrorists of Ambiguous Nationality!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-will-not-kill-my-girlfriend-today-international-terrorists-of/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [International terrorists have proved quite skilled at misleading many people about what is actually happening here in the Caucasus, and they continue to mislead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/international-terrorists-have-proved-quite-skilled-at-misleading-many/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [ They \[international terrorists\] are after us because we're a Christian nation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-g-boykin/they-international-terrorists-are-after-us-because-we-re-a-christian/) [William G. Boykin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-g-boykin/) > [I'm lucky to work in the most perfect of conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/i-m-lucky-to-work-in-the-most-perfect-of-conditions/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [Perfect partners don't exist. Perfect conditions exist for a limited time in which partnerships express themselves best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-rooney/perfect-partners-don-t-exist-perfect-conditions-exist-for-a-limited/) [Wayne Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-rooney/) > [If you'll wait for perfect conditions , you'll never get anything done .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-ll-wait-for-perfect-conditions-you-ll-never-get-anything-done/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My prayer today is to not be negative about anything for one day. It is so easy to be disappointed, critical, cynical. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/my-prayer-today-is-to-not-be-negative-about-anything-for-one-day-it/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-wait-for-perfect-conditions-you-will-never-get-anything-done/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Robin Cook > [Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/bin-laden-was-though-a-product-of-a-monumental-miscalculation-by/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [Chicken masala is now Britain's true national dish, not only because it is the most popular, but because it is a perfect illustration of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/chicken-masala-is-now-britain-s-true-national-dish-not-only-because/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [Saddam is neither friend nor brother to us, and he will never pay off debts to us. It's the question of precedent: today the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/saddam-is-neither-friend-nor-brother-to-us-and-he-will-never-pay-off/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [The truth is, there is no Islamic army or terrorist group called Al Qaida. And any informed intelligence officer knows this. But there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/the-truth-is-there-is-no-islamic-army-or-terrorist-group-called-al/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [I may not have succeeded in halting the war, but I did secure the right of parliament to decide on war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/i-may-not-have-succeeded-in-halting-the-war-but-i-did-secure-the/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [“over his body. The skin of the thorax that had been removed was draped over his legs. On it was a large tattoo of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/over-his-body-the-skin-of-the-thorax-that-had-been-removed-was-draped/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [“Then, as Noah would say, the shit hit the fan. On two occasions, he was hauled before the Residency Advisory Board, which was particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/then-as-noah-would-say-the-shit-hit-the-fan-on-two-occasions-he-was/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [The question Tony Blair should be reflecting on this weekend is having achieved this, having secured his place in the history of the Labour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/the-question-tony-blair-should-be-reflecting-on-this-weekend-is/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [There is a connection waiting to be made between the decline in democratic participation and the explosion in new ways of communicating. We need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/there-is-a-connection-waiting-to-be-made-between-the-decline-in/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [Tony Blair has to consider very carefully to what extent he can leave Britain, the party and the nation guessing as to when exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/tony-blair-has-to-consider-very-carefully-to-what-extent-he-can-leave/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [Medical school had been a time for imaginary diseases and Martin had contracted almost all of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/medical-school-had-been-a-time-for-imaginary-diseases-and-martin-had/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [She thought about how marvelous is would be to have a wife keeping the house in order, the meals on the table. At the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/she-thought-about-how-marvelous-is-would-be-to-have-a-wife-keeping/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [I can't accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action in Iraq without international agreement or domestic support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/i-can-t-accept-collective-responsibility-for-the-decision-to-commit/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [“A investigação podia dar esperanças para o futuro, curando as doenças... mas tinha um outro potencial muito mais perturbador.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/a-investiga-o-podia-dar-esperan-as-para-o-futuro-curando-as-doen-as/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [“Her conception of the role of the medical examiner was to speak for the dead to help the living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/her-conception-of-the-role-of-the-medical-examiner-was-to-speak-for/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) [Explore all 21 Robin Cook quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) ## More Conditions quotes > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. 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And that can be done in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/it-clearly-follows-that-to-make-men-moral-it-is-necessary-to-make/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. 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