"So far, America's response to a calculating cold-blooded enemy has been to say, 'Excuse me, you seem to have dropped your box-cutter.' "
Anne Coulter

"Dear Sir or Madam. You claim to have information about what was already in the minds of the death squads on the morning of September 11 2001. May I express the hope that, before communicating this valuable intelligence to me, you conveyed it to the proper authorities. Indeed, may I have your assurance that you have already done so? If, on reflection, you now decide that you did not have any advance intelligence of these actions, would you very much mind keeping your idiotic opinions to yourself."
Christopher Hitchens

"Ask me, and I'd say that the "motive" for such an action was to kill as many innocent people as seemed feasible, while spending some quality time in the company of the other innocent people who were being kidnapped for the purpose of murder. Press me further, and I'd say that the political or theological agenda was the vindication of a primeval fundamentalism. (Ask me for my evidence, and I would point out that perhaps 700 Muslims were burned alive in New York on September 11 last. My comrades at the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee tell me that New York's Yemeni community alone is mourning 200 missing.) Since the death squads had some knowledge of the area, and of American society, they can hardly have imagined that they were hitting only unbelievers. But the believers were the wrong kind of Muslim, or were otherwise expendable. That, by the way, is what fundamentalism means."
Christopher Hitchens

"The United States has two goals: One, to topple the Taliban; the other, destroying al-Qa'ida and killing bin Laden. If these goals are treated sequentially rather than in parallel, interesting possibilities emerge. To be more precise, if the focus was on disrupting and defeating the Taliban, bin Laden's position in Afghanistan would become untenable. Apart from his personal fate, the ability to base training and other facilities in Afghanistan would decline or disappear. Therefore, the heart of the matter is to defeat the Taliban. The resources available are special forces and other light but effective units. There is a unique match between the means needed to defeat the Taliban and the forces that can be made available."
Stratfor

"Time is the key. Under most circumstances, a strategy such as this would be expected to take years. That would be unfortunate in this case. However, it is not clear that it would take years. The Taliban regime does not necessarily have as strong a grip on power as might appear, and it is possible, through effective operations, to rapidly spread the sense that they are doomed. It is a case in which the perception of failure can lead to the reality. In short, the optimum strategy is one combining all of the elements of insurgency -- from psychological warfare to supply of weapons to insurgents. The virtue of this strategy is that it is the only one that could possibly bring down the Taliban and destroy bin Laden. We believe this is the option defense planners have selected. There will be no massive deployment of aircraft or divisions to the region. This will be a guerrilla war, with the United States orchestrating the guerrillas."
Stratfor

"Defense spending can, depending on the circumstances, focus on the procurement of advanced technologies. This leads to a surge in research and development that in turn generates technologies for the civilian economy. Consider the connection between defense spending and the Internet, which was invented as a defense project. There are hundreds of examples. One should not underestimate the ability of defense spending to stimulate the economy."
Stratfor

"I think when you are the biggest guy on the block you are always going to deal with resentment. It was true with the Romans. It was true with the British. It's true, now, with the U.S."
John Hulsman

"Who would have thought that I'd be angry on behalf of my country? I'm used to being angry AT my country."
Janeane Garofalo

"This is the first time I feel like an American, not just a black American. America's like a little gang now. It's like, 'Yo, G., we got to go get these dudes.' "
Mike B., Brooklyn comic

"It's not like looking for a needle in a haystack. It's more like looking for a piece of hay in a haystack."
John Pike