Tips on fighting terrorism

Michael Scheuer offers his take on the Goss CIA (bogged down), the Hayden nomination (bad choice), and Iraq ("finished") in our exclusive interview this week. Not all of the conversation made it into the Seven Questions. So here's a nugget. It's been said before but is worth repeating. We're often told that terrorists want to ...

Michael Scheuer offers his take on the Goss CIA (bogged down), the Hayden nomination (bad choice), and Iraq ("finished") in our exclusive interview this week.

Michael Scheuer offers his take on the Goss CIA (bogged down), the Hayden nomination (bad choice), and Iraq ("finished") in our exclusive interview this week.

Not all of the conversation made it into the Seven Questions. So here's a nugget. It's been said before but is worth repeating. We're often told that terrorists want to kill us because they hate our freedoms. It may be more instructive to view it the other way around. In Scheuer's words:

Very few people on this earth, Muslim or any other religion or ethnic group or linguistic group will die because I have a draft beer after work or we produce X-rated movies or we have women in the workplace. What they die for is the perception that our policies are attacking their faith and their brotherhood.

As the government continues to shape policy aimed at dismantling al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, it’s important to remember that few people attack without first constructing some narrative of victimization, real or perceived. Whether Western countries can do anything to discredit these ideas is a different question, but one worth keeping in mind.

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.