Leadership Quote by Jane D. Hull

Hull’s line does two jobs at once: it mourns an “attack” while converting that shock into a policy mandate. The first sentence is a classic political pivot from incident to infrastructure. By pairing “the attack” with “our response,” she frames the event not as a breach or failure, but as a demonstration of readiness. It’s a neat rhetorical judo move: the very thing that should raise questions about vulnerability is repackaged as proof of “how vital” Arizona’s bases are.

The subtext is parochial and pragmatic. “Arizona’s military bases” aren’t invoked abstractly; they’re economic engines, employers, and federal cash pipelines. Calling them “vital…to the defense of our country” nationalizes a local interest, giving state-level boosterism the moral armor of patriotism. It also preemptively narrows the debate: if the bases are vital, then criticism of their expansion, costs, or risks can be painted as naivete or disloyalty.

“We need to do everything we can to protect them” is intentionally elastic. “Everything” can mean perimeter upgrades and intelligence coordination, but it also leaves room for bigger asks: new appropriations, expanded jurisdiction, tighter security laws, and a harder line against dissent framed as threat. The grammar is communal - “we,” “our,” “country” - distributing responsibility while concentrating authority.

Context matters: Hull, a Republican governor in the post-9/11 era, is speaking into a moment when fear and solidarity were politically combustible. The quote captures how crisis rhetoric often turns geography into destiny: Arizona isn’t just a state; it’s a frontline, and defending its bases becomes synonymous with defending America.