Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Robert Fisk

Quote by Robert Fisk

“Osama bin Laden is very shrewd. But he struck me, even in 1997, as being remarkably out of touch. I remember thinking this does not look like the type of guy who walks to the top of a mountain with a mobile phone and says, "Operation B, attack."Now he is America's number one enemy. He's always wanted to be that.”

Quote by Robert Fisk

Create image

Author

Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk

Robert Fisk, born on July 12, 1946, is a British writer renowned for his coverage of the Middle East. His work spans politics, history, and society, offering profound insights into the conflicts and transformations in the region. more

You May Also Like

“Unfortunately, Osama bin Laden puts his finger on the other longstanding injustices in the Arab world: the conying so. And, tinued occupation of Palestinian land by the Israelis; the enormous, constant Arab anger with the tens of thousands of Iraqi children who are dying under sanctions; the feelings of humiliation of millions of Arabs living under petty dictators, almost all of whom are propped up by the West.”

WorldChildrenFeelingsDyingInjusticePalestinianDictatorHumiliationBin LadenOsama Bin Laden
Author:Robert Fisk
Create image

“Whether Osama bin Laden is doing it cynically and has no interest in these matters, or whether he's doing it out of genuine conviction, his voice has a tremendous resonance throughout the Arab world. One editorial in a Lebanese paper said it is a matter of great humiliation for the Arabs that the only man who can outline, truthfully, what our humiliations are is an Arab who has to say it from a cave in a foreign country.”

MenWorldCountryInterestConvictionHumiliationBin LadenOsama Bin Laden
Author:Robert Fisk
Create image

“I've lived in the Middle East for twenty-five years. I know exactly how these issues come up. Even my landlord, who is a moderate Lebanese guy, says, "But bin Laden says what we think." These people believe that Osama bin Laden is being targeted not because of the World Trade Center and Washington; they are not convinced by the evidence that has been produced. They believe he's being targeted because he tells the truth.”

PeopleThinkingWorldBelieveGuyEvidenceTradeTelling The TruthBin LadenOsama Bin LadenLandlordWorld Trade Center
Author:Robert Fisk
Create image

“We live in a society in the West, where, when men do violent things, they do them under orders. They are soldiers carrying out orders or mafia men carrying out killings for bosses. But the way things happen in the Middle East is not the same as in the West. Look, international capital has been globalized, so Osama bin Laden is globalized. It's not surprising to find followers of bin Laden in all these countries.”

MenCountryKillingSoldierThings HappenViolentBossMafiaBin LadenOsama Bin Laden
Author:Robert Fisk
Create image

“These terrible terrorism acts occur because of political situations and injustice in various parts of the world. The Middle East is heavy with injustice. After September 11,George W.Bush announced that he had always had a vision of a Palestinian state. Why didn't he tell us that before September 11, when it would have been a bit more impressive?”

WorldPoliticalSituationVisionTerribleInjusticeVariousTerrorismPalestinianSeptemberImpressiveSeptember 11
Author:Robert Fisk
Create image

“We love to think this fundamentalism and terrorism is all about poverty, and, of course, it has a connection. You can see that these people not only are poor but they have no outlets. These governments allow no opposition. So what do people do? They go to Islam. It's the only organizational institution where they can express their feelings. But it's not about poverty. I've never seen a single demonstration in which the people have come out with signs saying, "Please give us better roads. Please give us new prenatal clinics. Please give us a new sewage system."”

PeopleThinkingGivingFeelingsPoorPovertyIslamTerrorismOrganizational
Author:Robert Fisk
Create image