“

Today, Al Qaeda’s best hope is to find a troubled young man who has been radicalized over the Internet, and teach him to stuff his underwear with explosives.

I do not minimize Al Qaeda’s intentions, which are barbaric. I question its capabilities. In every recent conflict, the United States has been right about the evil intentions of its adversaries but massively exaggerated their strength. In the 1980s, we thought the Soviet Union was expanding its power and influence when it was on the verge of economic and political bankruptcy. In the 1990s, we were certain that Saddam Hussein had a nuclear arsenal. In fact, his factories could barely make soap.

The error this time is more damaging. September 11 was a shock to the American psyche and the American system. As a result, we overreacted.

”

Fareed Zakaria - Why America Overreacted to 9/11 - Newsweek

Recent comments

Blog comments powered by Disqus

Notes

  1. sharkquestionmark reblogged this from takethecityandrun
  2. sairahbairah reblogged this from thatandycohen and added:
    “‘No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual war,’ Madison concluded.”
  3. think4yourself reblogged this from brooklynmutt
  4. thatandycohen reblogged this from ericmortensen
  5. takethecityandrun reblogged this from ericmortensen
  6. ericmortensen reblogged this from brooklynmutt
  7. moorewr reblogged this from alexanderpf
  8. anindiscriminatecollection reblogged this from brooklynmutt
  9. vruz reblogged this from brooklynmutt
  10. alexanderpf reblogged this from evangotlib
  11. evangotlib reblogged this from brooklynmutt
  12. brooklynmutt posted this