Historian Timothy Naftali wrote: “In National Security Presidential Decision 9, which formalized American war aims in October [25] 2001, [President] Bush established a high, and some would later come to believe unrealistic, standard for victory. It was ‘the elimination of terrorism as a threat to our way of life.’ Al Qaeda was merely the first on a list of terrorist groups targeted for destruction or neutralization.”
– Julian E. Zelizer, ed., The Presidency of George W. Bush, Page 66