John O. Brennan Quotes

• While the intelligence profession oftentimes demands secrecy, it is critically important that there be a full and open discourse on intelligence matters with the appropriate elected representatives of the American people.

  John O. Brennan

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• Why should a great and powerful nation like the United States allow its relationship with more than a billion Muslims around the world to be defined by the narrow hatred and nihilistic actions of an exceptionally small minority of Muslims?

  John O. Brennan

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• Yes, war is hell. It is awful. It involves human beings killing other human beings, sometimes innocent civilians. That is why we despise war.

  John O. Brennan

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• Where terrorists offer injustice, disorder and destruction, the United States and its allies stand for freedom, fairness, equality, hope, and opportunity.

  John O. Brennan

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• When we uphold the rule of law, our counterterrorism tools are more likely to withstand the scrutiny of our courts, our allies, and the American people.

  John O. Brennan

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• We’re trying to be very careful and precise in our use of language, because I think the language we use and the images we project really do have resonance. It’s the reason why I don’t use the term jihadist to refer to terrorists. It gives them the religious legitimacy they so desperately seek, but I ain’t gonna give it to them.

  John O. Brennan

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• We need to make sure that leaks of classified information, of national security secrets, needs to be rigorously pursued and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  John O. Brennan

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• We are in this business, whether it be intelligence or the government, to protect freedom, democracy and liberty, not to violate that.

  John O. Brennan

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• We are a nation of laws, and we will always act within the bounds of the law.

  John O. Brennan

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• Unfortunately, in war, there are casualties, including among the civilian population.

  John O. Brennan

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• To me, terrorists should not be able to hide behind their passports and their citizenship, and that includes U.S. citizens, whether they are overseas or whether they are here in the United States. What we need to do is to apply the appropriate tool and the appropriate response.

  John O. Brennan

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• The risk of just one terrorist with just one nuclear weapon is a risk we simply cannot afford to take.

  John O. Brennan

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• The president’s priority is to protect the safety and security of the American people. That’s the physical security of the American people as well as the prosperity of the American people.

  John O. Brennan

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• The preservation of our national security and the laws that define us as the United States of America demand that we understand the intersection of the two – indeed, how they reinforce one another.

  John O. Brennan

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• The men and women of the CIA are a national treasure.

  John O. Brennan

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• The actions that we take on the counterterrorism front, again, are to take actions against individuals where we believe that the intelligence base is so strong and the nature of the threat is so grave and serious, as well as imminent, that we have no recourse except to take this action that may involve a lethal strike.

  John O. Brennan

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• Terrorists are not 100 feet tall. Nor do they deserve the abject fear they seek to instill.

  John O. Brennan

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• Sometimes there are actions that we are forced to take, but there need to be boundaries beyond which we are going to recognize that we’re not going to go because we still are Americans, and we are supposed to be representing something to people in this country and overseas.

  John O. Brennan

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• Poverty does not cause violence and terrorism. Lack of education does not cause terrorism.

  John O. Brennan

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• Our counterterrorism tools do not exist in a vacuum. They are stronger and more sustainable when the American people understand and support them. They are weaker and less sustainable when the American people do not.

  John O. Brennan

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John O. Brennan (32)

Birth:	22nd September, 1955
Nationality:	American
Profession:	Intelligence Officer

About

John Owen Brennan was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. He is an American intelligence officer. He was the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2013 to 2017. He served as chief counterterrorism advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama. He served in the White House as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security between 2009 and 2013. Previously, he advised President Obama on foreign policy and intelligence issues during the 2008 presidential campaign and transition. He earned a BA degree in Political Science from Fordham University in 1977. He earned an MA degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980.

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