"It is changing the face of terrorism. It is basically bringing it to the United States, to our great citizens. We know the terrorists are barbaric and murderers that attack innocent civilians, as they did in this case"
About this Quote
“It is changing the face of terrorism” is a soldier’s way of issuing a strategic warning while translating military threat-assessment into language that can move a domestic audience. Hugh Shelton isn’t reaching for poetry; he’s doing something more operational: defining a new battlefield in public, in real time. The phrasing marks a shift from terrorism as an overseas problem to terrorism as a home-front reality, a reframing meant to justify new priorities, budgets, and authorities. “Basically bringing it to the United States” isn’t just descriptive; it’s mobilizing. The adverb “basically” functions like a stabilizer, softening the claim’s enormity while still landing the punch.
The subtext is about proximity and permission. By invoking “our great citizens,” Shelton signals who the state exists to protect, and he quietly reassigns the military’s traditional outward gaze toward internal vulnerability. That rhetorical pivot matters: once terrorism is narrated as domestic encroachment, extraordinary measures start to sound like normal prudence. His moral language - “barbaric,” “murderers,” “innocent civilians” - draws a hard ethical line that discourages nuance. It’s not analysis of causes or networks; it’s a values-based categorization that makes decisive response feel not only necessary but righteous.
Contextually, this kind of statement lives in the post-Cold War, pre-9/11 continuum when U.S. officials were grappling with asymmetric threats and the public was still adjusting to the idea that American geography wasn’t a moat. Shelton’s intent is clear: reshape threat perception so the country will accept a new security era before it fully arrives.
The subtext is about proximity and permission. By invoking “our great citizens,” Shelton signals who the state exists to protect, and he quietly reassigns the military’s traditional outward gaze toward internal vulnerability. That rhetorical pivot matters: once terrorism is narrated as domestic encroachment, extraordinary measures start to sound like normal prudence. His moral language - “barbaric,” “murderers,” “innocent civilians” - draws a hard ethical line that discourages nuance. It’s not analysis of causes or networks; it’s a values-based categorization that makes decisive response feel not only necessary but righteous.
Contextually, this kind of statement lives in the post-Cold War, pre-9/11 continuum when U.S. officials were grappling with asymmetric threats and the public was still adjusting to the idea that American geography wasn’t a moat. Shelton’s intent is clear: reshape threat perception so the country will accept a new security era before it fully arrives.
Quote Details
| Topic | War |
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