Bruce Hoffman
Bruce Hoffman
Bruce Hoffmanis a political analyst known for his views on terrorism and insurgency. He is the Director of the Center for Security Studies and Director of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He is a specialist in the study of terrorism and counterterrorism and insurgency and counter-insurgency...
idle indication plot realm whether
It doesn't really give us any more indication of whether this was a plot that was derailed or preempted, or a plot that was more in the realm of an idle daydream.
anyone civil imagine larger prospect time war
Could anyone imagine it would be more perilous than it is today? The prospect of civil war is looming much larger than at any time in the past.
against fight insurgent pervasive unseen
That's the insurgent strategy, this pervasive insecurity. You can't fight against an unseen enemy.
attempt civil create dedicated disorder eliminate exactly members precisely president prime senior servants strategy terrorists vacuum
It is exactly the strategy of the terrorists to create a vacuum of disorder and lawlessness, and the way to do that is to attempt to eliminate precisely the dedicated civil servants like the prime minister, the president and the senior members of the interim government.
attack insurgents iraq learning lessons shared states terrorists throughout united
So, in other words, all the lessons that they're learning on how to attack the United States are being communicated and shared not only throughout Iraq but with insurgents and terrorists throughout the world.
chinese enemy sun win
It's like Sun Tzu, the Chinese strategist, said years ago. Only if you know your enemy can you win the battle.
impossible knowing speculate tempting
It's enormously tempting to speculate ... without knowing where he is, it's impossible to say.
card trump
They are the terrorists' trump card -- and our Achilles' heel.
benches ephemeral als
Al-Qaeda's obituary has been written countless times over the decade. Each iteration has proved to be ephemeral, as the moment has continually shown itself to have a deeper bench than we imagine.
thinking organization challenges
I think this is one of the major challenges that we face in the U.S. The major incidents in the U.S. have not conformed to our stereotype of an established terror organization attacking a major iconic landmark.
ransom abduction dimensions
One of the most ignored dimensions of the Iraqi insurgency are the Iraqis themselves who are regularly abducted, held for ransom and sometimes executed.
suicide mass-destruction perception
With the exception of weapons of mass destruction, there is no other type of attack that is more effective than suicide terrorism. The perception is that it's impossible to guard against.
impossible coincidence turnaround
It could be coincidence. It's an extraordinarily short turnaround it's impossible to say at this point.
struggle knowing understanding
One of the problems with the kill-or-capture metric is that it has often been to the exclusion of having a deeper, richer understanding of the movement, its origins, and our adversaries' mindset. The nuances are absolutely critical. Our adversaries are wedded to the ideology that informs and fuels their struggle, and, by not paying attention, we risk not knowing our enemy.