I think the rule should be that if we're going to take actions overseas that result in the deaths of people, the United States should take responsibility for that.
John O. BrennanRead
I do not - I never believed it's better to kill a terrorist than to detain him. We want to detain as many terrorists as possible so we can elicit the intelligence from them in the appropriate manner so that we can disrupt follow-on terrorist attacks.
Interpretation
Detaining terrorists is preferable to killing them for the sake of gathering intelligence and preventing further attacks.
This quote emphasizes the importance of capturing terrorists for intelligence purposes rather than resorting to lethal force. John O. Brennan argues that by detaining and interrogating terrorists, more valuable information can be gained to prevent future attacks, highlighting a strategic approach to counter-terrorism that prioritizes knowledge and information over immediate violence.
In practice
In a discussion about counter-terrorism strategies at a security conference.
I think the rule should be that if we're going to take actions overseas that result in the deaths of people, the United States should take responsibility for that.
While the intelligence profession oftentimes demands secrecy, it is critically important that there be a full and open discourse on intelligence matters with the appropriate elected representatives of the American people.
As a former career intelligence professional, I have a profound appreciation for the value of intelligence. Intelligence disrupts terrorist plots and thwarts attacks. Intelligence saves lives.
We are in this business, whether it be intelligence or the government, to protect freedom, democracy and liberty, not to violate that.
Terrorists are not 100 feet tall. Nor do they deserve the abject fear they seek to instill.
When we uphold the rule of law, our counterterrorism tools are more likely to withstand the scrutiny of our courts, our allies, and the American people.
No theory ever agrees with all the facts in its domain, yet it is not always the theory that is to blame. Facts are constituted by older ideologies, and a clash between facts and theories may be proof of progress. It is also a first step in our attempt to find the principles implicit in familiar observational notions.
War is a series of catastrophes that results in a victory.
The earth has enough resources for our need, but not for our greed.
Patriotism threatens free speech with death. It is infuriated by thoughtful hesitation, constructive criticism of our leaders and pleas for peace. It despises people of foreign birth. It has specifically blamed homosexuals, feminists and the American Civil Liberties Union. In other words, the American flag stands for intimidation, censorship, violence, bigotry, sexism, homophobia and shoving the Constitution through a paper shredder. Whom are we calling terrorists here?
I think it is wrong to expect certainties in this world, where all else but God that is Truth is an uncertainty. All that appears and happens about and around us is uncertain, transient. But there is a Supreme Being hidden therein as a Certainty, and one would be blessed if one could catch a glimpse of that Certainty and hitch one's waggon to it. The quest for that Truth is the summum bonum of life.
All human societies go through fads in which they temporarily either adopt practices of little use or else abandon practices of considerable use.
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