John Abizaid Quotes

The rise of ISIS starts with a Jordanian thug named Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who founded ISIS' parent organization, al Qaeda, in Iraq. What gave Zarqawi the opportunity to create al Qaeda in Iraq? It was, of course, George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

I think ISIS can do terrible things.

I really started to get a sense of how, if you will, special Zarqawi was, I guess, sort of midway through 2004.

There's no connection between al-Qaeda and Iraq.

Find Al Quaeda and Kill Them

The difference between Al Qaeda and ISIS is that instead of beheading their kidnapped victims, they shoot them in the head.

ISIS is on the offense, with the ability to attack at will, anyplace, anytime.

ISIS is at war with America, but America is not at war with ISIS - not the president, nor the Congress, and certainly not the American people.

ISIS is even at war with its most natural ally, al Qaeda in Syria.

ISIS has never fought a real battle.

While conducting a conventional war in Iraq and Syria, ISIS has staged terrorist attacks on a global scale against the people from the countries who are fighting ISIS.

Following 9/11, intelligence indicated numerous links between al-Qa'eda and Algeria. It began to look as though the roots of jihad could be traced back to the war in Algeria that began 50 years ago.

I've dealt with the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Iraq is now the central front in the war against al-Qaeda.

Osama bin Laden is going after us to get us out of the region, so he can deal with the regimes that he sees in the region, or replace them with purists.

And the fact of the matter is there were thousands of people that went through those training camps in Afghanistan. We know they are seeking deadlier weapons - chemical, biological and nuclear weapons if they can get it.

As we have heard, the end of al-Zarqawi is a significant blow to al-Qaida operations in Iraq. It is another clear indication of the progress we are making.

All around the world one heard or read that there was no connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.

Many of us didn't believe in the image of bin Laden as a wandering Old Man of the Mountains, living on plants and insects in an inhospitable cave somewhere on the porous Pakistan-Afghan border.

Bin Laden is remarkably eager for Americans to know why he doesn't like us, what he intends to do about it and then following up and doing something about it in terms of military actions.

I am encouraged by the news today that United States special operations personnel found, identified and killed the terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the operational commander of the al-Qaeda led insurgency in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi was the public face of the insurgency.

Ayman Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, as well as Abu Musab Zarqawi, have made it quite clear in their internal propaganda that they cannot win unless they can drive the Americans out. And they know that they can't do that there, so they've brought the battlefield to the halls of Congress.

We are tangled in a very significant Islamic insurgency in Iraq.

Al Qaeda is closely aligned with the Chechens.

Afghanistan remains an opportunity to deal al Qaeda a vital strategic blow, especially since we have abandoned all operations - including counterterrorism operations - in Iraq.