John Major Quotes
The British don't runaway from terrorism. We have had 30-odd years of terrorism in our own country from the Irish Republican Army. We're used to it.
Major, John. Interview by Larry King. Larry King Live, CNN, 12 Sept. 2001.
He and the government had just given the OK for a targeted assassination of the Palestinian terrorist who had designed the bombs and recruited the suicide bombers which led to the deaths of over 100 Israelis. Shortly thereafter, a cell phone the engineer was using blew up killing him by the same method whereby he had killed so many. This was the first targeted assassination of terrorist leaders, which then became an operational policy.
This quotation is used by some non Americans to illustrate a hypocrisy and double standard that they see the United States arguing for in dealing with terrorism. The PKK terrorists have been infiltrating from Northern Iraq (Kurdistan) into Turkey for years. Kissinger and most American leaders tried to dissuade the Turks from militarily moving into Iraq to cut off the terrorists there and deal the border. They preferred an international policy approach. However, after 9-11 when the U.S. mainland was attacked by terrorists, the United States not only reacted unilaterally, but invaded Afghanistan and Iraq supposedly to nullify the terrorists.
Sir John Major KG CH is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Major served in the Thatcher government from 1987 to 1990 as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary, and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Huntingdonshire, from 1979 to 2001.
