Tommy Franks Quotes

We have struggled with terrorism for a long time. In the Reagan administration, I was a hawk on the subject. I said terrorism is a big problem, a different problem, and we have to take forceful action against it. Fortunately, Ronald Reagan agreed with me, but not many others did.

On September 11, 2001, we thought we were going to be attacked many, many times between then and now. We haven't been. I believe we had a president who made the right decision at the right time... to put us on offense against terrorists.

The administration asserts that two thirds or three quarters of al-Qaeda’s managers have been captured or killed, and that al-Qaeda must therefore be on the ropes. Why spend vast sums defending against it?

I think the American people believe in stopping and preventing terrorism pretty much at any cost.

We are in a war on terrorism. We need to conduct that war and take it to the terrorists, not here at home.

… the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.

Because of what happened on 9/11, a lot of our resources, our money and our people were dedicated to the terrorism fight.

He can fight terrorists overseas, but he leaves our borders so they can come in here and do their thing.

I was appointed United States attorney on September 10, 2001. And I spent the next seven years of my career fighting terrorism and putting terrorists in jail.

I consider Bush's decision to call for a war against terrorism a serious mistake. He is elevating these criminals to the status of war enemies, and one cannot lead a war against a network if the term war is to retain any definite meaning.

It is all too evident that our nation, and the governments of other countries, require all the help they can get in order to fight the War on Terrorism against people who have no qualms about taking the lives of innocent men, women, and children.

The War on Terror is one of the most critical national security efforts in our history.

If we ever hope to rid the world of the political AIDS of our time, terrorism, the rule must be clear: One does not deal with terrorists; one does not bargain with terrorists; one kills terrorists.

American credibility in the war on terrorism depends on a strong stand against all terrorist acts, whether committed by foe or friend.

I know the pain of having to deal with terrorism. And that's why, after 9-11, I was one of the first to join the international coalition to fight terrorism.

The Pakistani government under Musharraf is a strong and key player in the global war on terrorism, and their contribution has been second to none.

We can fight the War on Terrorism in other places around the world or we can fight it here in America. The right choice is to fight those terrorists where they are.

It is no coincidence that our country has not been attacked since 9-11. Our initiatives to protect the homeland and aggressively take the fight to the terrorists have been factors in that success.

The campaign against terror [in Pakistan] is a campaign for enduring freedom.

Fighting terrorists does not require half a trillion dollars worth of conventional and nuclear forces.

We will pursue terrorists everywhere. At an airport – okay, at an airport. If we catch them in a lavatory, in an outhouse, we will take them out there with their pants down.

Detain terrorists … set up detention facilities outside the United States.

For the FBI and for the United States, the war on terrorism is a complex and perplexing issue. It is as complex and perplexing as any issue we have ever faced.

Those are the two issues: Protecting the homeland and stopping the war and going after ISIS in a way that ends the terrorism.

In 2001, terrorism was fought in a completely different way.