“I think the world is more perilous and America is basically undefended. For me the two touchstones after 9/11 for domestic security were our borders. Not for discriminatory reasons or to stop immigration, but simply to allow law enforcement to find out who is in our country without facing an undocumented pool of aliens that increases by the hour.” ThinkingWorldTwoCountryReasonAmericaLawHoursSecurityIncreaseImmigrationOur CountryAliensBordersPoolLaw EnforcementEnforcementTouchstones Author:Michael Scheuer
“Every mujahadeen who comes in from outside the country finds an environment where Arabic is spoken. So in that sense, it's a tremendous come-on for the young in Islam. But I think much more important is, it just validates so much of what the Muslim world is predisposed to believe.” ThinkingWorldBelieveImportantCountryYoungEnvironmentIslamMuslim World Author:Michael Scheuer
“We now have some years of very reliable polling by Western firms in the Islamic world, in multiple Islamic countries. And invariably, the question that asks, "Do you view U.S. foreign policy as an attack on Islam and Muslims?" is maxed out. Whether it's Jordan or Indonesia or Egypt, you get 80,85 percent of people saying "Yes."” PeopleWorldYearsCountryAsksViewsPolicyPercentIslamWesternFirmIslamicForeign PolicyMultipleEgyptIndonesiaJordanSaying YesPolling Author:Michael Scheuer
“So in a sense, that little war in the Levant had a horrendous effect in terms of the stability of countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, over the long term. Because once again, it proved to Muslims that their governments couldn't protect them and would side with the enemy.” LittlesLongWarCountryGovernmentSidesTermEnemyEffectsProtectLong TermStabilityEgyptArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisKuwait Author:Michael Scheuer
“I don't know what our capabilities are. If I were there, I think it would be nutty to do that. The only country on Earth more containable than Iran is Iraq. And we've certainly made a mistake there. We could have continued Saddam.” IfsThinkingKnowsMadeCountryWould BeEarthMistakeIraqIranCapabilitySaddamMade A MistakeNutty Author:Michael Scheuer
“I think what history will show is that one of the most tragic results of the war in Iraq will be that although Sharon, the Likudites, the Neoconservatives in our country, President Bush and the Democratic party thought the war in Iraq and destroying Saddam would benefit Israeli security, we're seeing absolutely that the war in Iraq has probably put Israeli security in a more tenuous condition than it's been in since the founding of the Israeli state.” ThinkingWarCountryStatesShowsPresidentResultsPartySeeingConditionsSecurityBenefitsDemocraticIraqOur CountryTragicDestroyingSaddamFoundingDemocratic PartyIsraeliPresident BushSharon Author:Michael Scheuer
“The Western world doesn't really give enough credit to the importance in history of the Soviet invasion and the subsequent war in Afghanistan. For us it was a sideshow of the Cold War. For the Islamic world it was an unprovoked infidel invasion of a Muslim country not unlike Iraq.” WorldGivingWarCountryEnoughColdImportanceWesternIraqCreditIslamicAfghanistanSovietCold WarInvasionWestern WorldInfidelSideshows Author:Michael Scheuer
“The second part of that war was that Muslims came from all over the country to Pakistan, and they met each other. For the first time those men had an awareness of the Islamic world as a whole, not of just Egypt or Algeria or Indonesia, but of what Muslims call the Uma, the Islamic community. And that's an extraordinarily important thing. And that emanated in Pakistan.” MenWorldFirstsImportantWarCountryWholeCommunityAwarenessMetsFirst TimeImportant ThingsIslamicEgyptPakistanIndonesiaAlgeria Author:Michael Scheuer
“What we face is a scared populace, and because it's scared, it's willing to put up with what I think are inevitably more moves toward the constriction of civil liberties, mobility within the country, the ability to travel overseas, all of those things we have long taken for granted.” ThinkingLongCountryFacesMovingAbilityLibertyTakenWillingScaredGrantedCivil LibertiesTaken For GrantedMobility Author:Michael Scheuer
