10/17/1984

In a speech on October 17, 1984, Middle East Envoy Donald Rumsfeld said he “summarized my conviction that the United States and free people everywhere needed to come to grips with terrorism as a preeminent threat of the future: ‘Increasingly, terrorism is not random nor the work of isolated madmen. Rather, it is state-sponsored, by nations using it as a central element of their foreign policy. …A single attack by a small weak nation, by influencing public opinion and morale, can alter the behavior of great nations or force tribute from wealthy nations. Unchecked, state-sponsored terrorism is adversely changing the balance of power in our world.’ ”

 – Donald Rumsfeld, Known and Unknown, Page 33