Incompetence is a better explanation than conspiracy in most human activity.
Peter BergenRead
For many terrorists, carrying out an attack allowed them to become the heroes of their own story.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects how individuals can perceive their violent actions as heroic when framed within their own narratives.
This quote suggests that for some extremists and terrorists, engaging in violent acts can be seen as fulfilling a personal or ideological hero's journey. They may believe that their actions, often viewed as atrocities by the outside world, grant them a sense of purpose or validation within the story they tell themselves, characterizing their violent deeds as courageous and noble.
Themes
TerrorismHeroismNarrativeViolenceExtremism
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the psychology of terrorists, this quote can illustrate their motivations.
More from Peter Bergen
All quotes βAdding to your list of enemies is never a sound strategy, yet ISIS' ferocious campaign against the Shia, Kurds, Yazidis, Christians, and Muslims who don't precisely share its views has united every ethnic and religious group in Syria and Iraq against them.
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The deep problems that afflict the Middle East are not easy to fix, but they must be dealt with if we are not to see a son of ISIS, or even a grandson of ISIS, developing in the years to come.
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The diagnosis that poverty, lack of education, or lack of opportunities have much to do with terrorism requires a fundamentally optimistic view of human nature. This diagnosis leads to the prognosis that all we need to do to solve the terrorism problem is to create societies that are less poor, better educated and have more opportunities.
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If the Arab Spring was a large nail in the coffin of al-Qaeda's ideology, the death of bin Laden was an equally large nail in the coffin of al-Qaeda the organization.
Peter BergenRead
Pakistan's key leaders have succumbed to the assassin's bullet or bomb or the hangman's noose, and the country has seen four military coups since its birth in 1947. Yet the Pakistani polity has limped on.
Peter BergenRead
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