"Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison took a trip to Mecca in December that was funded by a group terrorism experts say is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, an international Islamist movement. Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison's groundbreaking pilgrimage to Mecca last month was paid for by an American Muslim organization that has ties to Islamic radicals and is "the Muslim equivalent of the neo-Nazi party," his critics say. Ellison, a Democrat, became the first U.S. congressman ever to make the hajj pilgrimage when he visited Islam's holy city in December. The trip was funded by the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, a non-profit interfaith group that is one of 55 branches of the MAS nationwide. The pilgrimage was hailed by Muslim activists in the U.S."

"Mr Bush recognised terrorism for what it was - a battle of ideas more than a law enforcement issue - and was quick to put on notice nations known to have harboured Al-Qaeda militants. 'Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists,' he said in a speech, while the ruins of the World Trade Center lay smouldering. To many, it was the talk of a boorish Texas cowboy. But Mr Bush meant it. He cajoled with aid and threatened with force until a swathe of governments which had openly or otherwise hosted, funded, patronised or tolerated terrorists began uprooting the local extremist groups, cutting off their access to funds and reining in fanatical preachers. Over the next seven years, in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Sudan, Morocco, Pakistan, Indonesia and other nations, the mesmeric sway of Osama was undercut. Opinion polls of Muslim populations showed falling support for the Al-Qaeda leader and his weapon of choice - suicide bombing. At home, Mr Bush repaired the national security apparatus in the largest revamp of the US federal government since the Cold War. With the roaring approval of the American public, he struck against terrorists abroad. US Special Forces and long-range bombers demolished Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, and killed or captured militants in acts of retaliation for the 9/11 attacks."

"Actually, we need leadership, not management at CIA. That person who's going to be in charge of CIA is in charge of our fight, not just of our collection of intelligence, but our fight against terrorists globally, not just on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. We need a decision-maker who is decisive, who understands these issues, who doesn't have to start learning on day one. I'm sure Mr. Panetta is a wonderful, kind man. He spent his career in government. But, you know, I wrote, the book that I wrote actually to talk about what we need, what are the qualities we need? And I thought that individuals like some foreign ambassadors, many foreign senior military officers that have daily — you know, on a daily basis have to deal with life-and-death issues, are better prepared to serve in this sort of capacity."

"I think, clearly, that President-elect Obama, like many other Democratic presidents, is a bit afraid of the agency. You know, if you look at Jimmy Carter, you know, he had Stansfield Turner there who gutted the place. Bill Clinton used John Deutch to gut the place, to reduce clandestine collection."