The spate of suicide bombings show their desperation to reignite sectarian conflict.

May 1, 2009
Muwaffaq al-Rubaie Iraq National Security Adviser

The most recent surge in terrorism may be a desperate effort to destabilize Iraq and test its new security arrangements before most U.S. combat troops leave in August.

April 30, 2009
Robert Gates U.S. Secretary of Defence

This latest eruption of violence as a desperate attempt of "rejectionists," who fear that the government will succeed in creating a united and peaceful Iraq.

April 25, 2009
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Two years after Harry Reid said the war in Iraq is lost, a desperate move by Al-Qaeda may show we are winning the war in Iraq. security forces have arrested 4 children who were carrying out suicide attacks for Al-Qaeda.

The idea is that because they are using children now, to attack officials, this shows just how desperate the terrorist organization called Al-Qaeda has become. Apparently they are running out of options and soldiers.

April 20, 2009 Mitch Marconi
Wingnut hack

And although that some of those desperate groups are trying desperately to do terrorist attacks to prove their existence and to effect or influence our security and morale.

March 25, 2009 - Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta
Iraqi Army,

We know that al Qaida, although greatly reduced in capability and numbers, still is desperate to maintain relevance here in Iraq.

...

And so if nothing else, that puts pressure on them to somehow show their relevance, become more desperate. 

...

So again, I think indicative that al Qaida feels threatened; they are getting desperate. 

March 10, 2009 - Maj. Gen. David G. Perkins,
spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq

We know that al-Qaeda, although greatly reduced in capability and numbers, still is desperate to maintain relevance here.

March 9, 2009 - Maj. Gen. David G. Perkins,
spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq

Al-Qaida has been pushed by U.S. and Iraqi forces and "they're getting desperate" and may be willing to do anything to remain relevant, Perkins says.

February 27, 2009 - Gen. David Perkins
spokesman for multi-national forces Iraq.

It is an indication that desperate attempts by terrorists have failed and life is getting back to normal.

November 11, 2008 - Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi
Senior spokesman for the Iraqi military in Baghdad

The attacks are the desperation of the terrorists to reverse improvements in security

November 11, 2008 - Iraqi spokesman, Tahseen al-Sheikhly

This illustrates that as security in the province improves, the terrorists will resort to desperate attacks against an improving Iraqi Army.

October 15, 2008 - Maj. Jon Pendell, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment spokesperson.

Terrorists, shoved up against the wall, can still spit in Iraq's eye - expect a wave of desperate attacks as al Qaeda tries to shape the US election.

September 29, 2008 - Ralph "Bloody Putz" Peters,
lying New York Post hack

These operations or these attacks try to affect...or disrupt the operations done by the BOC and security operations done by the government, or try to affect the morale of the people. And it’s a desperate way to prove that they’re still there.

September 24, 2008 - Major General Qassim Atta

This attack specifically targeting local civilians is a horrific practice and a show of desperation by these criminals.

September 22, 2008 - Maj. Joey Sullinger,
spokesperson, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

And I think over time that there will be a requirement for some additional forces in Mosul because it is clear that that is a location that al Qaida is, is very much resisting being completely thrown out of, and so they're, they're desperately trying to retain some foothold,

September 2, 2008 - General David H. Petraeus,
Commanding General, Multi-National Force - Iraq

Horrific suicide attacks, including using children and women, demonstrate the desperation this enemy feels. These sorts of attacks only strengthen the resolve of the local populace and Iraqi Security Forces to stabilize their communities and return to normalcy and progress.

September 2, 2008 - Col. Todd B. McCaffrey, commander,
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Inf. Div., MND-B.

Without sanctuary, lacking coordination, choked from resources and facing a crushing loss of confidence and support from al-Qaeda’s senior leadership within its global headquarters in the wild frontiers of Pakistan’s mountain ranges, al-Qaeda in Iraq faces desperation and dire straits.

They are clearly still capable of deadly attacks, with suicide vests so powerful they are being mistaken for car bombs. However, while the loss of life and injury to Iraqis in each bombing is difficult to endure, for al-Qaeda, the whole of their desperate efforts is less than the sum of its parts. Tactical successes with strategic insignificance.

September 2, 2008 - Steve Schippert Marine (ret) /
Managing Editor of ThreatsWatch / Some Guy With a Website

Police wanted to show the desperate level al Qaeda has reached, with members of one family driving each other to death.

Aug 27, 2008 - Ibrahim Bajilan
Head of the provincial council Diyala province

We lost a strong leader and allies in a cowardly attack last night. This attack by extremists against an SOI leader only tells us that they’re desperate and are trying to upset the security and peace of the Adhamiyah district

Aug 18, 2008 Maj. Mark Cheadle, Multi-National Division –
Baghdad and 4th Infantry Division spokesman

The bombing was a desperate measure by al-Qaeda, the day will come soon when we will announce that al-Qaeda's coffin has been thrown in the garbage of history.

Aug 17, 2008 - Jawad Bolani Iraqi interior Minister

This attack shows the desperation of al- Qaeda in Iraq.

Aug 16, 2008 - Lt. Col. John Digiambattista
Opperations Officer for 3rd Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division

This attack shows just the how desperate the enemy is to disrupt the forward momentum of peace and stability in the Balad area

Aug 16, 2008 - Lt. Col. Thomas Hauerwas,
1st Brigade Combat Team,
101st Airborne Division executive officer

The use of female suicide bombers is an example of the desperate and indiscriminate actions that al-Qaeda in Iraq inflicts on the innocent Iraqi people

Aug 11, 2008 - Maj. Jon Pendell
2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment spokesperson.

These are desperate acts by extremists and criminal groups to disrupt the increasing security conditions the Iraqi people long for.

Aug. 10, 2008 - Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling,
commander of Coalition force in northern Iraq

First, while Obama is playing armchair general, second-guessing why there is an Taliban offensive in Afghanistan, the reality is that this is a result of the U.S. success in Iraq. Al-Qaida forces fleeing Iraq have been redeployed inside Afghanistan staging a last desperate stand in its own back yard.

July 24, 2008 - Charles R. Smith Newsmax Wingnut

While they still can conduct the occasional bombing, and they desperately seek a high value media event, they essentially now pray (sic) on the helpless and engage in futile attacks against the Iraqi Security Forces.

June 16, 2008 - Marine Major General John Kelly

As sectarian violence has plummeted and a semblance of normality has returned to Iraq, the use of women bombers reflects the jihadis' desperation as much as their lethal determination.

June 16, 2008 - Aparisim "Bobby" Ghosh Time Magazine's World Editor

Then, in an act of desperation, al Qaida destroyed the Golden Mosque in Samarra, which touched off horrendous sectarian violence.

June 16, 2008 - John F. Brinson
Chairman of the Lehigh Valley Tax Limitation Committee

The killings actually may be an act of desperation on the part of the insurgents, which proved to be the case when something similar happened in Anbar province.

June 11, 2008 - An unidentified American Special Forces soldier

The enemies of Iraq and America now cling desperately to their last bastions, while the political process builds momentum.

June 10, 2008 - Kimberly Kagan and Fredrick W. Kagan

Al-Qaida and insurgents are now desperate and want to ensure that their cause (and) organization stays alive,"

June 5, 2008 - Farhana Ali RAND Corp. Terrorism Expert

Because of al Qaeda's setbacks the group has become desperate, increasingly turning to female suicide bombers to stage attacks.

May 10, 2008 - Unnamed U.S. military officials

Although overall attacks have decreased dramatically and AQI has no stronghold left, insurgents continue to desperately hurt civilians in an attempt to maintain an influence in the area.

May 5, 2008 - Capt. Stephen Bomar,
U.S. military spokesman in northern Iraq.

The attacks are nothing but muscle flexing by insurgents desperate to reclaim territory.

April 16, 2008 - A leader of the Sons of Iraq in Diyala, Abu Mustafa

This is an act of desperation and a leading example of how the extremists target innocent Iraqis.

April 14, 2008 - Allen Batschelet, chief of staff for the 4th Infantry Division

Al-Qaida, once a very influential force in the Sunni Triangle, has been reduced to sending mentally ill female suicide bombers to do their fighting. This is an indication that this enemy is desperate and is nearly eradicated.

April 10, 2008 - Dennis Nowicki Jr., a National Guardsman

Acts of desperation intended to inflict fear into the local population are just another example of an enemy on the run.

April 8, 2008 - Maj. Peggy Kageleiry

This barbaric attack continues to show the desperate and horrific measures these individuals will stoop in order to hurt the innocent Iraqi people

April 4, 2008 - Captain Stephen Bomar

These new desperation tactics, apparently to try and increase the number of attacks dramatically, failed.

April 4, 2008 - Yet another nameless Startegy Page drone

This incident is just another example of the desperation AQI is showing.

Mar 27, 2008 - Maj. Dan Meyers

This enemy is desperate. They know they are losing. They are not likely to go out easy.

Mar 24, 2008 - Michael Yon - Author, "independent reporter" and some guy with a website

Insurgents will continue to use radical methods as they become more desperate.

Mar 23, 2008 - Capt. Stephen Bomar

We are fighting a defeated and desperate enemy. They recruit disabled people to carry suicide bombs into markets to blow up civilians, and that's horrific. But it shows their desperation.

Mar 18, 2008 - Marine Corps Col. Christopher "Caveman'' Holzworth

We hear some about suicide bombings on the news, but I think they (terrorists) are desperate and trying to make big splashes.

Mar 18, 2008 - Capt. Jeremy Haugh

A recent increase in the use of suicide vests is a sign that Iraqi insurgents, who are finding it increasingly difficult to sneak car bombs past stepped-up U.S. and Iraqi security checkpoints, patrols and blast walls, are growing desperate.

Mar 11, 2008 - Unnamed U.S. commanders

It has become desperate times for the insurgents in the al Anbar province.

Mar 3, 2008 - Sgt. Nathaniel C. LeBlanc

Underscoring the significance of the cease-fire extension was the response it provoked: a desperate mortar bombardment of the Green Zone in Baghdad, reportedly perpetrated by breakaway Shiite factions intent on prolonging civil discord in hope of enhancing their political position.

Mar 2, 2008 - Uncredited Editorial - Worcester Telegram & Gazette

The third point, after the defeat that the terrorist groups witnessed and as a sign of desperation for them, some of those terrorists resorted to some new methods and techniques and those methods have been characterized by us and the Multi-National Forces and we know they…all those things.

Feb 25, 2008 - Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner

A new desperate attempt to undermine Iraqi unity and trigger sectarian strife.

Feb 25, 2008 - Iraq's Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi

Al-Qaeda’s hold on the population continues to grow weaker every day, and this is the latest example of their desperate and brutal efforts to seek retribution against Iraqis who attempt to keep AQI out of their towns and villages.

Feb 22, 2008 - Maj. Mike Garcia

I think you’ll see some attacks of desperation in reprisal for his decision.

Feb 22, 2008 - Warrant Officer 1 Favian McGraw

Recently, there has been an uptick in attacks on Americans and civilians. Some of this is attributed to a desperate al-Qaeda who have been attempting to punish the Sunnis who joined "The Awakening" movements in the provinces. Other attacks are attributed to rogue Shia militias who seem to have increased their activity in recent weeks.

Feb 16, 2008 - Rick "get a brain" Moran - Some guy with a website

Is it just me, or is threatening Israel always the last act of desperation from the enemies of the United States in the Muslim world?

The last desperate act of losers in the Arab world is always to focus attention away from the conflict at hand and towards Israel.

Feb 14, 2008 - Rusty Shackleford - Some guy with a website

The diary, which belonged to an al Qaeda "emir" who commanded five terrorist battalions, revealed the emir's desperation regarding the damage being inflicted on his forces by ours

Feb 13, 2008 - W. Thomas Smith Jr. a former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader, parachutist, and shipboard counterterrorism instructor

The U.S. military's strict rules of engagement underscore a sharp contrast between its conduct and the enemy's, as al Qaeda grows more desperate to inflict carnage in Iraq.

snip

A senior U.S. military officer in Iraq, who asked not to be named, said al Qaeda has stepped up the use of suicide-vest bombings in recent weeks in a desperate attempt to kill more Iraqis and defeat the surge.

Feb 12, 2008 - Rowan Scarborough

The release of this and other documents in recent days highlight the organization's state of disarray and desperation.

Feb 11, 2008 - Rear Adm. Gregory Smith

We do think these acts are desperate, with the improved security situation in Baghdad it is harder for al Qaeda to get in car bombs.

Feb 8, 2008 - Air Force Col. Donald J. Bacon
Chief of special operations and intelligence information
Iraq’s Strategic Communications Division.

That is a disturbing trend that obviously shows the desperation AlQaeda is going through to use whatever means possible to achieve its ends, it knows no bounds.

Feb 7, 2008 - Rear Adm. Gregory Smith

There have actually been several instances in recent years where al Qaeda in Iraq has used children and the mentally disabled in attacks, revealing a bit of desperation on al Qaeda's part.

Feb 7, 2008 - CBN News Terror Analyst Erick Stakelbeck

It obviously shows the desperation of al-Qaida, they are dying in Iraq.

Feb 7, 2008 - Iraqi defence ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari

The videos are a sign of desperation by Al-Qaeda.

Feb 6, 2008 - Iraqi defence ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari

With the defeat of the al-Qaida in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, bin Laden may become desperate to launch attacks outside of the region.

Feb 6, 2008 - Mike McConnel, chief of the U.S. Intelligence Service

War On Terror: Al-Qaida in Iraq is desperate. Not only is it resorting to using women for suicide bombings, it's even tricking mentally disabled women to stage them.

Feb 5, 2008 - Uncredited Investor's Business Daily editorial

The series of Al Qaeda against awakening councils by Al Qaeda is a desperate response from Al Qaeda to the engagement of awakening councils into security forces.

Feb 5, 2008 - Iraqi Interior Minister

The attacks signaled a new desperation as concrete blast barriers and other security measures have stanched the group's ability to stage deadly car bombings and similar attacks.

Feb 3, 2008 - The US military

The continued use by al-Qaida of Iraq's most innocent _ its children, women and even the mentally challenged _ shows the broken ideology, the desperation and the depths al-Qaida will go in this attempt to destroy the bright future of Iraq.

Feb 3, 2008 - Rear Adm. Gregory Smith

As they grow more desperate, they resort to more and more heinous means to inflict death and destruction.

Feb 3, 2008 - uncredited editorital The Post and Courier

This behaviour can be only seen as an act of desperation.

Feb 3, 2008 - Iraiq Security Analyst Hussein Sabah al-Dulaimi

Today's attacks also tell us that al Qaeda in Iraq is getting very desperate in seeking the high-casualty attacks that they so value.

Feb 2, 2008 -Confederate Yankee - Some Guy With a Website

Al-Qaeda is desperate. This is why they attack innocent people like this.

So what is left to the enemy now is making improvised explosive devices out of Pepsi-Cola cans and using ignorant people and deceiving them. This is a cheap and desperate way.

Feb 2, 2008 - General Abud Qanbar Hashim,
Iraqi chief of Baghdad Operations Command,

al-Qaeda is turning to women out of desperation.

Feb 2, 2008 - The US military in Baghdad

A desperate act of terrorism

It's a sign of desperation by terrorists who are losing their heinous war to prevent a democratic Iraq rising from the ashes of Saddam Hussein's tyranny.

Feb 2, 2008 - The Daily Telegraph

The coordinated blasts appeared to reinforce U.S. claims that al-Qaeda in Iraq may be increasingly desperate and running short of able-bodied men willing or available for such missions.

Feb 2, 2008 - The Associated Press

Involving women in fighting violates religious taboos in Iraq, but the U.S. military has warned that al-Qaida in Iraq is recruiting women and youths to stage suicide attacks as the insurgents become increasingly desperate to thwart stepped-up security measures.

Feb 1, 2008 - Kim Gamel Associated Press

This was a cowardly and desperate act executed by terrorists bent on derailing reconciliation efforts and progress … as a result of cooperation and resolve on the part of local Iraqi leaders and citizens.

Jan 31, 2008 - Col. Todd B. McCaffrey

There are many signs that Iraq's enemies are becoming increasingly desperate and they are becoming increasingly appalling as well.

Jan 28, 2008 - Rear Admiral Gregory Smith

AQI are on their heels right now, I think. I see these attacks as acts of desperation to break the will of the people to reject them.

Jan 17, 2008 - Lt. Col. Ricardo Love

They've had to go out and find different ways to compensate," Baker said. "I think it's an act of desperation. To me, it's a desperate act to compensate and I think it will backfire.

Jan 16, 2008 - Col. Donald Bacon, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad

Involving women in fighting violates religious taboos in Iraq, and a growing number of female suicide attacks could indicate insurgents are becoming increasingly desperate.

Jan 16, 2008 - Christopher Chester - The Associated Press

Lastly, many military experts agree that Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) has been tactically defeated and is desperately trying to reorganize, reconstitute and regenerate its forces.

Jan 14, 2008 - Lieutenant Colonel (ret) Roger D. Carstens
Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

Al Qaeda leaders operating in and around the northern city of Mosul are reported to be discouraged and desperate for money, this, explains a recent spate of regional kidnappings for ransom and other criminal acts to obtain quick cash.

snip

Terrorist attacks are down overall across Iraq but "spectacular" events committed in the northern provinces, such as suicide attacks and beheadings, appear to be increasing. Such acts demonstrate al Qaeda in Iraq's increasing desperation.

snip

Recent terrorist attacks on Iraqi concerned citizens groups indicate al Qaeda in Iraq's increasing desperation.

Jan 10, 2008 - Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling,
Commander of Multinational Division North

The interrogations indicate desperation among the al Qaeda and Sunni Arab leadership.

Jan 05, 2008 - Yet another nameless Startegy Page drone

There's a sense that this is an act of desperation.

Jan 05, 2008 - Col. Donald Bacon, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad

It goes against religious taboos in Iraq to involve women in fighting, but three recent suicide bombings carried out by women could indicate insurgents are growing increasingly desperate.

snip

Although use of women can be a sign of desperation, female suicide bombers also help extremist groups attract male recruits. Militants exploit the image of desperate women fighting because there aren't enough brave men, taunting would-be male suicide bombers into action, Hafiz said.

Jan 05, 2008 - Diaa Hadid - Associate Press Reporter

That these are “acts of desperation” does not render them ineffective.

Jan 02, 2008 - James Joyner - Some guy with a website

As the enemy continues to feel increasing pressure from all sides, to include a more viable Iraqi security force, this senseless attack today just demonstrates the enemy's desperation as Iraq and its citizens are making significant strides for peace.

Dec.27, 2007 - Lt. Col. Peter Wilhelm, 1st Battalion, 327th Regiment commander

I also think it's an act of desperation by the enemy. He -- the enemy is a ruthless, absolute -- with no regard for human rights or the loss of life of innocent civilians. So it's an act of desperation by them, I believe.

Dec.20, 2007 - Commander, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Col. Paul Funk

30 extremists have been terrorizing the population in the area but now have been forced out of their sanctuaries, we are taking that area away now, and they are desperate.

Dec.19, 2007 - Colonel Tom James

al-Baghdadi's message reflects the desperation of militants.

Dec. 14, 2007 - Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Muhammad al-Askari

A desperate attempt to attract attention away from the clear successes the government has had in cutting violence elsewhere.

Dec. 13, 2007 - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

Any criminal act they commit would only be a desperate attempt to draw attention away from the clear successes and to break through the siege imposed on the defeated groups.

Dec. 12, 2007 - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

That is where al Qaeda in desperation is trying to find a location to consolidate their weapons and develop their plans.

Dec. 9, 2007 - Colonel Tom James

What we have seen is some instances of different types of attacks, the use of suicide vests and desperate attacks against concerned local citizens.

Dec. 8, 2007 - Major-General Mark Hertling

This is the context needed to best understand the message most recently attributed to one “Abu Omar al-Baghdadi,” which, as will be shown, is a message of desperation from a group on the run and finding former Iraqi allies now hunting them seemingly at every turn.

The al-Qaeda-Scripted Message: Signs of Desperation

Dec . 5, 2007 - ThreatsWatch.Org

The soldiers feel it, they're excited ... one roadside bomb is to me an act of desperation.

Dec . 5, 2007 - Col. Jon S. Lehr

The jihadists are getting quite desperate over seeing their sphere of operations shrink in Iraq.

snip

Therefore, it suggests the jihadists not only are on the defensive, but also are getting quite desperate over seeing their sphere of operations shrink in Iraq.

Dec . 2, 2007 - Stratford international affairs, public policy and security experts

As noted at Threatswatch, al Qaeda in Iraq's media wing is desperate to produce propaganda for multiple reasons.

Nov. 28, 2007 - Bill Roggio

There might be an uptick in violence coming as a result of al Qaeda's desperation.

Nov. 26, 2007 - General David Petraeus

There are signs of progress though the country remains mired in corruption and U.S. commanders anticipate increased violence from a desperate al Qaeda.

Nov. 26, 2007 - Senator John McCain

Resourceful, desperate militants turning to household materials to make explosives

Nov 25, 2007 - Stars and Stripes headline

With our operational successes on the battlefield in Iraq comes desperation from al-Qaida.

snip

This faulty understanding of our culture is likely to cause al-Qaida, in desperation of its setbacks recently, to try to strike the United States again.

snip

The desperation of the terrorist networks comes from our military’s success on the battlefield as well as the successes of the local police forces, the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency as well as our allies in keeping the terrorists on the defensive.

snip

The enemy is desperate.

Nov 15, 2007 - Frank X. Ryan

The daytime attack is proof of al-Qaeda's desperation.

Nov 12, 2007 - Lt. Col. Jack Marr 1-15th Inf. Regt. Commander

By damaging the homes of innocent civilians, they are continuing to lose their ground and have become desperate. Through their desperate attempts, they will continue to lose support of the civilian population who are fed up with violence.

Nov 6, 2007 - Maj. Randall Baucom,spokesman for the 1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div

New Bin Laden Audiotape: Desperation Time

Oct 29, 2007 - Erick Stakelbeck, CBN News Terrorism Analyst

Al Qaeda is desperate, and they need a new strategy. The old one, of making terror attacks on Shia Arabs, with the objective being a civil war the Sunni Arabs would win, has been a failure.

Oct 24, 2007 - The Strategy Page

Insurgent leaders have been forced to resort to desperate tactics like paying children to do their attacks for them.

Oct 20, 2007 - Major Ike Sallee

It's another barbaric tactic and it's a sign that they're desperate.

Oct 14, 2007 - Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Donnelly
US military spokesman in northern Iraq

This cowardly act was a sign of desperation by terrorists, in an attempt to disrupt security forces and Concerned Local Citizens who have joined together to combat terrorism throughout Salah ad Din and other areas of northern Iraq.

Oct 10, 2007 - Col. Bryan Owens,
Commander, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

Al Qaeda has lost half its leadership over the Summer, and American intelligence collectors have amassed a huge number of desperate messages from al Qaeda leaders and operatives. Terror attacks are down by more than half because al Qaeda keeps getting run out of their refuges, and, in desperation, keeps asking each other for help.

snip

This is what the psychologists predicted as the number of desperate messages grew.

snip

But that initial encounter with desperate terrorists, determined to take an infidel with him, can be unnerving, and dangerous.

Oct 3, 2007 - The Strategy Page

The key points in this hand-written note include, he's surrounded, communications have been cut and he's desperate for help.

Sept 22, 2007 - Brigadier General Joseph Anderson

Al-Qaida has pushed harder lately but it's a sign of desperation, the enemy now is more lethal and more aggressive than I've ever seen him be because he knows he's on the run - and potentially on the ropes.

Sept 21, 2007 - Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch

In fact, they've become so desperate that they've returned to using "Abu Omar al-Baghdadi" in their audio tapes. Two months ago, "Baghdadi" got exposed as an actor, a front to have Iraqis believe that AQI was a native Iraqi organization. The fact that they're still relying on this threadbare lie shows how desperate AQI has become, and how little opportunity they've had to adapt since the surge hit top speed.

Sept 17, 2007 - Captain Ed - Some Guy With a Website

Everything that has gone wrong stems from the desperate efforts of various forces, both indigenous and imported, to prevent those seeds from taking root.

Sept 11, 2007 - Neo-con scumbag Norman Podhoretz

But the takfiri movement that once nearly controlled the province by blending in with its people has lost almost all popular support and has been driven to desperate measures to maintain a precarious foothold.

snip

AQI--and therefore the larger al Qaeda movement--has suffered a stunning defeat in Iraq over the past six months. It has lost all of its urban strongholds and is engaged in a desperate attempt to reestablish a foothold even in the countryside.

Sept 04, 2007 - Military Historian Frederick W. Kagan

A convenient side-effect of the increased number of U.S. combat operations has been to make al-Qaida more desperate for recruits. So the extremists resort to violent means to coerce people to join them, which has pushed more local Iraqis to the American side.

Sept 04, 2007 - Brig. Gen. Jim Huggins

Due to the local populace’s recent successes in regard to reconciliation efforts that are uniting the people here against insurgents and extremists, the attack proves that Al Qaeda is becoming desperate.

Sept 03, 2007 - Lt. Col. Peter Andrysiak

Well, first of all, I'd say that it shows some desperation on their part, because what they're trying to do is create a sensational event.

Aug 30, 2007 - Maj. Gen. Sherlock

Even the insurgents' mosque-burning and pilgrim-shooting strategy can be seen as moves of desperation.

Aug 24, 2007 - American Taliban Mullah Dinesh D'Souza

Recently, the terrorists groups they were desperate and due to the defeat that they're facing and based on the cooperation between the security forces and the Iraqis so they went to these places and they started to target these areas.

Aug 19, 2007 - Brigadier general Qassim Atta,
Iraqi spokesman for Fardh al-Qanoon

This is much less about al-Qaida overstepping than about them (Sunnis) realizing that they've lost as a result, Sunni groups are now desperately trying to cut deals with us.

Aug 16, 2007 - Lt. Col. Douglas Ollivant

This is an act of desperation by a group of maniacs who continue to offer only death, destruction and violence to the innocent citizens of Iraq.

Aug 16, 2007 - Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon

The bombings were a sign of al Qaeda's frustration, desperation and fear.

Aug 15, 2007 - Ralph "Dude, where's my civil war" Peters

The increasingly sophisticated attacks are desperation on the insurgents' part after troops became too successful at finding roadside bombs and other explosives.

Aug 15, 2007 - Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly

This is a desperate act to gain international attention from the media.

Aug 15, 2007 - US army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon

This is a desperate act on behalf of the enemy to gain media attention.

Aug 15, 2007 - US army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon

As Al Qaeda is now being chased out of regions it once held without serious challenge, their tactics are tinged with desperation.

Aug 7, 2007 - Former Special Forces soldier current
Weekly Standard & National Review contributor

That is why you will see an increase in desperation attacks.

Aug 7, 2007 - Lance Cpl. Charles Williams

The terrorists have been living on hope and desperation for over a year.

In a desperate attempt to regain the edge, the terrorists have been using more violence against tribal leadership.

Aug 1, 2007 - Unnamed Strategy Page Drone

The jihadists are now fighting a desperate war against the new stick of American military power and carrot of American-inspired political reform.

That's the only way they got power in the first place and now desperately count on keeping it.

July 26, 2007 - Victor Davis Hanson

What we see is this violent and desperate enemy, as it will do these singular and very spectacular acts of violence in order to derail or to take the focus off of the good things that are happening.

July 23, 2007 - U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert H. Holmes
Deputy director of operations for U.S. Central Command

This heinous crime” confirms that the terrorists are the enemies of all Iraqis and showed that the attackers are desperate to break the noose that is closing in upon them.

July 08, 2007 - Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki

Our increased aerial presence over the numerous mahallas (neighborhoods) that are being cleared in Operation Fardh al Qanoon has led to desperate acts by (the enemy).

July 1, 2007 - Army Capt. Ryan Sullivan,

Iraqi Security Forces acted swiftly and decisively in response to this desperate act of terrorism.

Terrorists are making desperate attempts to cripple the growth process of the citizens and businesses of Mosul.

June 25, 2007 - Col. Stephen Twitty,
Commander, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

Many analysts feel Force Protection will see tougher competition for future contracts in the mine-resistant vehicle space. But as the war in Iraq lingers and as insurgents grow more desperate in their attacks, investors will return to Force Protection.

June 25, 2007 - James Altucher is president of Stockpickr LLC

And these tactics of desperation, the setting off bombs, this sort of thing, killing innocent people ---- yes, they're attacking our folks but increasingly ineffectively in the Marine area right now ---- it is just the normal challenge of war that our country has been through before when it fought tyranny.

June 25, 2007 - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
Commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command

Our increased aerial presence over the numerous muhallas (neighborhoods) that are being cleared in Operation Fardh al Qanoon has led to desperate acts by (the enemy).

June 20, 2007 - Capt. Ryan Sullivan,

I believe the Sunni insurgency in Iraq has collapsed, and all the casualty tallies that the insurgents are desperately trying to ratchet-up won't convince me otherwise.

June 19, 2007 - NY Sun Columnist Nibras Kazimi

The fight for security in Baghdad is likely to get harder over the coming months as we engage an increasingly desperate enemy.

June 15, 2007 -Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte

The attack was a desperate attempt by terrorists and carried out after the success of the crackdown in Baghdad and other areas.

snip

Those who commit such crimes are disillusioned, as their attempts to divide Iraq have failed, and hence they are carrying out such desperate attacks.

June 14, 2007 - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

It is an act of desperation by an increasingly beleaguered enemy seeking to obstruct the peaceful political and economic development of a democratic Iraq.

June 14, 2007 - Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and Gen. David H. Petraeus

These attacks were directed against Iraqi people and their infrastructure, and clearly show the desperate nature of these attackers intent on disrupting the Iraqi economy and intimidating innocent civilians.

June 12, 2007 - Official Iraqi government statement

Insurgents particularly supported by Iran, see us winning, and they're doing desperate things.

snip

Part of that is because of the enemy desperately striking out.

June 7, 2007 - Senator Joe Lieberman (SOB-CT)

In Fallujah, al Qaeda is killing Sunnis again. It would appear that al Qaeda is desperately trying to reassert itself. Yesterday, a car bomb killed some 15 people and wounded another 25, many of them women and children. This is one of the reasons why the tribes of Anbar are joining forces to fight al Qaeda.

June 6, 2007 - Brigadier General Kevin Bergner,
Spokesman, multinational force Iraq

It's desperation on the part of local members of al-Qaida in Iraq, as it builds strongholds elsewhere in the country, especially northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province.

June 1, 2007 - An unamed Iraqi Police Officer

The enemy we face shows no such restraint, nor battlefield honor, and any coordinated offensive against coalition troops would be nothing more than a desperate act to turn the tide of public perception, once and for all, against a continued U.S. presence, no matter what the consequences might be for Iraq or its citizens. That desperate act would be short-lived and futile, ending much as the Tet offensive did in Vietnam: a military failure.

May 31, 2007 - The New Media Journal Greg Reeson

That is why al Qaeda fighters from across the Muslim world are streaming into Iraq and fighting desperately to retain and expand their positions there.

May 22, 2007 - Military historian Frederick W. Kagan

This was a total team effort on the part of the Iraqi Security Forces and emergency responders This Iraqi team showed the people of Mosul that they are resolute in their efforts to defeat this very cowardly, desperate enemy while protecting innocent civilians.

May 20, 2007 - U.S. Army Col. Stephen Twitty,
Commander of 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division

There is much work to be done, both by Iraqis and by Coalition forces, and much fighting lay ahead, particularly in the coming bloody house-to-house street fighting against increasingly desperate al-Qaeda terrorists who have lost Anbar and see the cordon beginning to encircle their new Diyala powerbase.

May 18, 2007 - Steve Schipper managing editor for ThreatsWatch.org

This is desperation on their part.

May 17, 2007 - Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari

“These attacks demonstrate the desperation of these terrorists,” said Twitty. “They have no concern for the good Iraqi people, who now must suffer from damaged hospitals, bridges and homes.”

May 16, 2007 - U.S. Army Col. Stephen Twitty,
Commander of 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division

It also reflects a desperate attempt to regain a foothold in Anbar and other Sunni areas that have turned against terrorism.

April 28, 2007 - military historian Frederick W. Kagan

Three of Baghdad's 13 bridges over the Tigris river have been targeted by large explosions in the past month the attacks are desperate acts by insurgents who are under pressure from the two-month old Baghdad security operation.

April 25, 2007 - Unnamed Iraqi and U.S. Commanders

The attacks are desperate acts.

April 19, 2007 - Iraq's ambassador to the U.S. Samir Shakir Al-Sumaydi

The carnage in Baghdad shows the desperation of the terrorists to stop the security plan.

April 19, 2007 - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari

The day of carnage showed how desperate insurgents are to undermine the fledgeling democracy.

April 18, 2007 - Uk Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett

Al-Qa'ida in turn is attacking its former allies in an increasingly desperate way. Moqtada al-Sadr is on the skids, losing military supporters and political leverage within the Government.

April 13, 2007 - former Austraillian head of Foreign Affairs Michael Costello

The attack - inside Baghdad's most secure area - was no real surprise and showed the terrorists were desperate to derail the ongoing security surge.

April 12, 2007 - Austraillian Prime Minister John Howard

The poison gas attacks and the use of children as weapons belie a high level of desperation within the Jihadist ranks.

April 2, 2007 - Douglas Hanson
former Chief of Staff in the Iraqi Ministry of Science and Technology

Attacks by Sunnis against members of their own community, including the first use of poison gas in Iraq since Saddam Hussein killed thousands of Kurds in Halabja in 1988, showed an incredible level of desperation.

April 2, 2007 - Senior Counter-insurgency Adviser to General David Petraeus
David Kilcullen

Like backing a rat into a corner, increasing pressure on the extremists by limiting their available resources and places to hide leads to desperate changes in tactics.

March 29, 2007 - U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Mark Fox

An act of cowardice and only demonstrates to the world how desperate this enemy is.

March 28, 2007 - Brigadier General Mick Bednarek

The attack showed increasing desperation by al Qaeda in Iraq.

March 24, 2007 - Tariq al-Dulaimi senior security official in Ramadi

If, as Greg Richards notes, the battle in Iraq is truly swinging in our favor, then it is likely that more attacks with WMD will occur showing just how desperate enemy has become.

March 19, 2007 - Douglas Hanson
former Chief of Staff in the Iraqi Ministry of Science and Technology

We see the Sunni insurgency trying to desperately gain control of Diyala, because it helps in their effort to control Baghdad and to prevent the government of Iraq from succeeding

March 12, 2007 - Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon

The terrorists are desperate.

March 8, 2007 - Captain Kevin Calvey, Army National Guard

The recent kidnapping and murder... is a clear sign to Iraq that the insurgents are desperate, under a great deal of pressure, and are resorting to heinous acts to further their cause.

March 5, 2007 - US military officer Major General Benjamin Mixon

So desperate were the Sunni terrorists in the Baghdad suburb of Tarmiya, that they attacked an American outpost in the town.

March 5, 2007 - James Dunnigan - Renowned military analyst and author

Desperate Insurgents Detonate Chemical Bomb

The use of a chemical bomb in Iraq is a new escalation for the Sunni insurgency, and one that may indicate a certain level of desperation for those who would use a weapon that comes with such a stigma.

Since then, al Qaeda and its increasingly fewer affiliate Islamists has more often been the hunted than the hunter, and the use of a chemical bomb today hints at the level of desperation they have now reached.

While the western media is almost certain to interpret the attack as an increase in the level of violence to counter the "surge" of American and Iraqi troops and implementation of the the Petraeus plan designed to crush the remaining al Qaeda strongholds, it is doubtful they will recognize, much less publicize, the level of desperation that the Sunni Islamists militants in Iraq have reached to use a weapon that can only diminish their collapsing support.

The Sunni Islamists in Iraq are becoming ever more desperate.

February 23, 2007 - Confederate Yankee - Some Guy With a Website

This action reflects the desperation of the terrorists who are trying to destroy the Iraqis’ confidence in their government’s ablity to protect them.

February 23, 2007 - U.S. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver

The bombings underscore the increasing desperation felt by criminals and will only serve to galvanize Iraqi forces and their coalition partners.

February 19, 2007 - U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad

desperate acts by terrorists and criminals who sense they are being squeezed.

February 19, 2007 - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

The bombings in Baghdad underscore the increasing desperation felt by criminals who seek to undermine the peace and stability that the Government and people of Iraq are working so hard to build.

February 18, 2007 - U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad

A desperate handful of terrorists and pro-Saddam allies... who committed a shameful crime against the innocent university students

January 16, 2007 - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

Saddamists and Takfiris are banking on instability in a desperate attempt to turn back history.

December 22, 2006 - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

ignore the desperate attempts of Sunni Arab insurgent group to keep you from class.

December 6, 2006 - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

al Qaeda in Iraq is trying desperately to bring down the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

November 28, 2006 - President Bush

The insurgents in Iraq are trying to foment sectarian violence and produce as much chaos as possible, out of their desperation in seeing the Iraqi government and military standing up.

November 8, 2006 - Brigadier General Jack B Egginton
Deputy Director of Operations, US Central Command

The attacks showed that the insurgents are becoming desperate because of progress being made under the security plan.

October 16, 2006 - Major General Torhan Yussef, Kirkuk's police chief

Desperate acts like suicide bomb attacks will not stop the Iraqi Police from protecting their communities.

October 16, 2006 - Lt. Col. Scott Shuster, CO, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment

The terrorists who carried out this attack are the enemies of the Iraqi people, desperate to derail the progress Iraq is making toward freedom and prosperity.

October 7, 2006 - US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad

Military veterans see desperation in Baghdad bombs

October 6, 2006 - Washington Times headline

This is a decisive blow to al Qaeda, which has been desperately trying to fight off an Iraqi government that is getting stronger by the week.

October 1, 2006 -Harold C. Hutchison

Those insurgents may be getting desperate, the rash of violence may be a reaction to the threat the military is posing.

September 1, 2006 -Colonel Thomas Vail

The Battalion’s successes over the last several days are really the result of the anti-Iraqi forces conducting attacks out of desperation.

September 1, 2006 - Lt. Col. Norm Cooling
commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.

The latest violence was a desperate attempt by terrorists who are being pushed into a corner by the new security crackdown.

August 14, 2006 -Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed Askari

We must continue to support Iraq's first-ever democratically elected government, even as the terrorists desperately try to undermine it.

August 5, 2006 - RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman

In spite of the anti-war left's continued use of the supposed failure in Iraq as an election-year political issue, the decreasing frequency of effective insurgent attacks, combined with the increasing desperation of their methods, sends the inarguable signal that a turning point has been reached in that country.

July 5, 2006 - Jeff Emanuel

But these are ultimately not acts of confidence, but of desperation.

June 23, 2006 - Victor Davis Hanson

In spite of the anti-war crowd's fervent attempt to make this murder of American soldiers into an election-year political issue, the decreasing frequency of effective insurgent attacks, combined with the increasing desperation of their methods, sends the inarguable signal that a turning point in Iraq has been reached.

June 22, 2006 - Jeff Emanuel

Just as al Zarqawi's memos and communications indicated that the tone inside al Qaeda is getting desperate in the face of imminent defeat, so do the derisive reaction from the left to every bit of good news out of Iraq prove that liberals are becoming similarly desperate.

snip

Kerry and Murtha's strategically disastrous demands that America cut and run from the terrorist insurgency at a time when it is desperately attempting to rally its dwindling forces, belie something that is hardly less than a dark alliance between the terrorists and the American left.

June 21, 2006 - Chris Adamo

Despite the immediate attempts of the anti-war Left to make this murder of American soldiers into an election-year political issue, the gradually stabilizing situation on the ground—especially evidenced by the decreasing frequency of effective insurgent attacks, combined with the increasing desperation of their methods—almost inarguably proves that a turning point in Iraq has been reached.

June 20, 2006 - Jeff Emanuel

At the very moment that documents captured from the Zarqawi death site indicate that Al Qaeda feels it is losing its war against the Iraqi future and has become so desperate that its only hope to prevail is by embroiling the U.S. in war with Iran;

June 19, 2006 - Peter Collier and David Horowitz

Rather than proving they are still potent after the death of Zarqawi, this was their last act of desperation and destruction.

June 14, 2006 - Unamed "senior security officials"

If anything, it could even lead to a brief surge in attacks, as Zarquawi's followers desperately try to prove that they are not deterred by his death.

June 9, 2006 - Some Guy With a Website - Jay Tea

The current escalation in violence is because of the desperation of insurgents and terrorists as the noose is being being tightened around them.

June 5, 2006 - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari

Not only is progress being made in Iraq but there's hard evidence that the terrorists are desperate.

snip

The al-Qaeda document discovered by U.S. forces in Iraq shows that al Qaeda in Iraq is desperate and lacks public support.

May 23, 2006 - Cliff Kincaid and Roger Aronoff - Accuracy in Media

Far from optimistic, the documents captured in an April 16th raid reveal frustration and desperation, as the terrorists acknowledge the superior position of American and free Iraqi forces and their ability to quickly adapt to new tactics.

May 9, 2006 - Captain Ed - Some Guy With a Website

Only a relative handful of zealots are required to keep the suicide bombs exploding, and the people who blow themselves up needn't have much military skill. If al-Qaeda in Iraq is running short of these, it is in desperate straits.

May 6, 2006 - Jack Kelly

Zarqawi and his entourage are desperate and incompetent.

May 5, 2006 - Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch

And we believe that indicated an act of desperation, that he knows he's on the verge of complete failure in Iraq because this national unity government's going to form. So getting out with his face, we believe, was an act of desperation.

May 4, 2006 - Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch

Terrorist bombings and propaganda videos signify a desperate attack by a desperate enemy

April 30, 2006 - U.S. Army Brigadier General Thomas Wright

When an enemy changes strategy to play to your strength, it indicates either desperation or unbridled folly -- both of which augurs nothing but good news. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi now will indulge this desperation or folly in fighting the Americans.

April 30, 2006 - Captain Ed - Some Guy With a Website

The violence will continue as the insurgents desperately fight to derail democracy in Iraq, but as they have in the past they will fail.

April 29, 2006 - Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch

The enemy is resorting to desperate acts of violence because they know the establishment of democracy in Iraq will be a double defeat for them.

April 29, 2006- President Bush

al-Qaeda and its affiliates are desperate to claim Iraq as their own

April 28, 2006 - Henry Crumpton -U.S. State Department anti-terrorism chief

This is an act of desperation. He knows he’s in his final hours.

April 28, 2006 - Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch

Standup of new government prompts enemy desperation

The violence will continue as the insurgents desperately fight to derail democracy in Iraq, but as they have in the past they will fail.

April 28, 2006 - Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch

So operations continue against folks that are making bombs and emplacing these bombs. But it's a true statement that he still has the capability of conducting surge operations, and he did there, and he did that in an act of desperation because he sees this national unity government forming. And I'll talk more about that in a minute.

snip

In this last week, as you're well aware, Zarqawi posted on the Internet a video clip. He showed his face for the first time since March of '04. We believe that's an act of desperation.

April 27, 2006 - Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch

The foreign fighters played this last desperate card on Feb. 22 with the attack on the Askariya mosque in Samarra.

This desperate attempt by foreign fighters to achieve a civil war in Iraq has failed.

April 10, 2006 Mike Coffman - Marine Corp civil affairs officer /
Colorado State Treasurer.

Like many of these crimes, the latest Jihadi gimmick has all the earmarks of a desperation move.

April 4, 2006 J.R. Dunn editor of the International Military Encyclopedia

Most isn't sectarian violence but rather desperate acts of terrorism designed to derail the formation of the national unity government or simply criminal activity.

March 31, 2006- Maj. Gen. James Thurman

The extremists see these changes and are desperate to prevent that progress

March 27, 2006 - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

First of all, I think it's very important for people to understand one reason they're so violent and desperate is because they're trying to stop a society based upon liberty.

March 22, 2006- President Bush

As the terrorists become more desperate we must remain resolute

March 21, 2006- Uk Secretary of State for Defence John Reid

Clearly there is an attempt under way by the terrorists, by Zarqawi and others, to foment civil war. That's been their strategy all along, but my view would be they've reached a stage of desperation from their standpoint

March 19, 2006- Vice President Cheney

Terrorists recognize that they're losing in Iraq and that despite their desperate attempts to prevent it, Iraq is emerging as a free democracy.

March 19, 2006- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

Al-Qaeda is getting very desperate as they see a democratic government emerge and an increasingly professional Iraqi security force. We're going to see a lot more frustration and desperation before this is over.

March 19, 2006- Victor Davis Hanson

The growth of democracy and the political progress leaders of the country are making in forming a government has made terrorists desperate. So desperate that they would destroy one of their own most sacred shrines in an attempt to cause civil war and strife.

March 5, 2006- Marine Gen. Peter Pace Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

We are making progress in helping the Iraqis take control of their own country, and this desperate act by the terrorists failed to achieve their desired effect of inciting a civil war based on sectarian differences.

March 1, 2006- Col. Gary Langford

Few observers suggested that the Samarra bombing of a holy mosque by radical Muslims might be a sign of the terrorists' desperation--killers who have not, and cannot, defeat the U.S. military.

March 1, 2006- Victor Davis Hanson

You can't base that assessment on a `crisis' because the more desperate the terrorists become the more they'll try to make the crisis bigger.

February 24, 2006 - Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategic Plans Director Lieutenant
General Gene Renaurt

But the level of violence is far from that envisioned by al Qaeda, which seems to have conducted this attack as an act of desperation.

February 23, 2006 - James S. Robbins American Foreign Policy Council

...an act of desperation as well as an act of desecration by the people who committed this outrage.

February 23, 2006 - Prime Minister Tony Blair

This desperate and despicable act shows that terrorists stop at nothing and care for nothing.

February 22, 2006 - Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and General George Casey

Recently al-Zarqawi's terrorists seem to have found a new preoccupation: assassinating Sunni leaders who are planning to participate in the new Iraqi government. They killed prominent Sunnis in Kirkuk and Fallujah last week. Those may be signs of desperation,

February 12, 2006 -Time Magazine columnist Joe Klein

terrorists are desperately afraid of an Iraq whose people come to see extremism as the enemy of progress not as an answer to injustice.

February 7, 2006 -Uk Defence Secretary John Reid

Recent spike in attacks in Iraq showed that al Qaeda and other terrorists still have the capability to act, but they're growing more desperate.

January 15, 2006 -Brig. Gen. Donald Alston

Continued acts of brutal violence performed by terrorist groups operating in Iraq depict a desperate and frustrated enemy .

January 12, 2006 - President Bush

The insurgents are becoming more desperate as a democratic process increasingly took hold and desperate people are dangerous people.

January 6, 2006 - Colonel Barry Johnson

This attack shows the desperate, murderous nature of al-Qaeda.

January 6, 2006 - Marine Maj. Gen. Stephen Johnson

Today's escalated violence in Iraq another indication that Dec. 15 elections there were a major blow to al Qaeda and a sign of desperation among terrorists hoping to disrupt the Iraq's progress.

January 5, 2006 - Marine Gen. Peter Pace Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Some very desperate cowards are trying to stop the political process, no one has been deterred by this in the least. They’re even more resolved to continue the process.

January 6, 2006 - Col. John L. Gronski

The fact that the terrorists are attacking innocent civilians is evidence that they are desperate. It is difficult to attack our soldiers, so, they have turned to soft targets, like Iraqi civilians.

January 6, 2006 - James D. Bell former Judge

In desperation, the terrorists in Iraq will continue to employ roadside bombs and recruit suicide bombers in cowardly attempts to obtain headlines

December 19, 2005 - Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service

The fatwas of Ayman al-Zawahiri sound ever more desperate and shrill.

December 15, 2005 - Victor Davis Hanson

That is really why the terrorists groups in Iraq are feeling so desperate.

December 14, 2005 - Seminary professor and former Bush Sr. helper monkey Daniel Heimbach

The Baathist holdouts are a desperate and fanatical lot, ready to die before submitting to minority status.

December 6, 2005 - William Tucker American Enterprise Institute Ass.

The expectation always has been that violence would spike not only with the approach of the election but with the ever-increasing desperation of insurgents intent on disrupting Iraq’s democracy movement.

December 1, 2005 - Major General Rick Lynch

...this is clearly a sign of how desperate insurgents have become.

December 1, 2005 - Captain Jeffrey Pool- Marine spokesman

They're (terrorists) hitting at soft targets, weddings and mosques, it's a sign of desperation.

November 23, 2005 - U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon)

Does the eye of reason see in the frenzies of the terrorists desperation of the kind insurgents feel who see defeat ahead, not victory? The kind of people who are prepared to bomb children to express their desperation?

November 22, 2005 - William F. Buckley Jr. - NRO Editor at Large

Despite the dangers encountered in operations like Steel Curtain, U.S. and Iraqi forces are also enjoying what they see as desperate, even "comical," incidents on the part of AQI-insurgents, whom the Marines have dubbed "the mighty jihadi warriors."

November 20, 2005 - W. Thomas Smith Jr. - NRO Drone

As (Zarqawi) gets more desperate, he'll get more violent .

November 20, 2005 - Captain Jeffrey Pool- Marine spokesman

They (terrorists in Iraq) know what is at stake and try desperately to derail our progress.

November 19, 2005 - Senator Elizabeth Dole

Was it a sign of desperation?

snip

Another sign of desperation: Consider who Zarqawi sent to run the Amman operation, Mrs. Al-Rishawi’s husband. He also a member of Zarqawi’s inner circle.

snip

Either way, it’s a sign of desperation.

November 18, 2005 -Richard Miniter internationally recognized expert on terrorism.

The Amman bombings are not signs of al-Zarqawi's strength. On the contrary, they are signs of desperation. Bin Laden, meanwhile, has been curiously silent for more than a year.

November 16, 2005 - Jonathan Gurwitz - wingnut hack

People who think this attack is evidence of al Qaeda's strength or momentum have it backwards. This is a sign of weakness, of rashness, of desperation.

November 14, 2005 - James S. Robbins American Foreign Policy Council

That's a very good observation, because we are seeing tactics that one would say ... show desperation.

November 14, 2005 - Joyce Davis- author
"Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East."

From the continued “standing up” of a professional Iraqi security force (military and police), the ongoing development of Iraq’s physical infrastructure, and the forming of a constitutionally based elected government, to the weakening of a now-desperate insurgency; progress is indeed being made.

October 31, 2005 - W. Thomas Smith Jr.

(Terrorists) are desperate because they can't gain credibility any other way, they resort to mindless destruction at the media's front doorstep.

snip

A letter from al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, reflects that desperation.

October 31, 2005 - Air Force Brig. Gen. Donald Alston

The more the Iraqi people move forward on the political process, the more desperate the terrorists become.

October 12, 2005 - Scott McClellan

That al Zarqawi perceives one of the main branches of Islam as a threat greater than the United States itself demonstrates not only the fragility of al Qaeda’s political and theological tenets but a desperation that can be sustained only through mayhem and violence.

September 26, 2005 - Aaron Goldstein, Intellectual Conservative

He (Zarqawi ) is so desperate and twisted he's attacking Shi'ites.

September 26, 2005 - unnamed Special-operations Officer

Al Qaeda is clearly getting desperate.

snip

It's a desperate attempt to regain support among Sunnis, and a clear indication that Al Qaeda is no longer getting the popular support it needs to be effectiv

September 25, 2005 - Dave Nalle

The kidnapping demonstrates the desperation of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his ability to execute his strategy.

September 19, 2005 - Col. Billy J. Buckner, U.S. military spokesman

And its latest excesses could well be the desperate reaction of a movement under pressure from an advancing democratic process and the accompanying intensification of American military operations

September 16, 2005 - Telegraph editorial

The increase in attacks we saw today and yesterday is an indication of their (Al-Qaeda's Iraq branch) desperation, because they know that they cannot defeat us militarily

September 15, 2005 - US Central Command spokesman

We believe that it's a sign of desperation.

September 15, 2005 - Iraqi Government spokesman, Bashar Al Nahar

The insurgents had become desperate as Iraqis prepared to vote in an Oct. 15 referendum on a new constitution.

September 15, 2005 - Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, chief military spokesman in Baghdad

The attacks show their desperation and cowardice in the face of the setbacks they have suffered in Tal Afar and elsewhere at the hands of Iraq's security forces.

September 15, 2005 - Al-Jaafari interim prime minister of Iraq

And the biggest split we saw was when al Qaeda got so desperate and started attacking women and children, and then Zarqawi said it was okay to attack women and children.

And it's really desperate, as we saw it again in April-May time frame in Mosul, a lot of targeting of civilians.

We recently killed Zaid (sp) and we had that letter, and it also talked about the desperate situation for the al Qaeda and the insurgents in Mosul and in the north.

September 14, 2005 - Colonel Robert Brown, Commander of The 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Multinational Force-Northwest

Thus al-Qaidists and ex-Baathists alike are desperate to drive us out.

September 6, 2005 - Victor Davis Hanson

As democracy in Iraq takes root, the enemies of freedom, the terrorists, will become more desperate, more despicable, and more vicious.

August 28, 2005 - President Bush

As Iraqi officials continue to finalize the nation's constitution and outline for a democratic Iraq, increasingly desperate insurgents are staging more frequent attacks on our soldiers and Iraqi police forces.

August 18, 2005 - Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-Upper Arlington)

As signs of progress continue to spring forth from Iraq, the terrorists and insurgents grow more and more desperate in their attempts to derail Iraq’s steady march toward democracy.

August 18, 2005 - U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-Green Bay)

At some point, most would-be terrorists should see that their cause is a desperate one.

August 9, 2005 - Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld

They are desperate to get us out of Iraq, if we succeed in Iraq they will be surrounded by elected governments.

Michael Ledeen - American Enterprise Institute

And, although they're desperate to stop the forward march of freedom in the Middle East and beyond, including Central Asia, ... they're failing at that as well.

August 4, 2005 - Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld

He struck in desperation why else would he use 700 or 800 pounds of explosives just to blow up a Humvee?

August 3, 2005 - Battalion commander Lt. Col. Steve McCorkle

Although the Iraqi people remain determined to build a free society, the terrorists are desperate to try to stop them.

snip

They're desperate to stop the forward march of freedom in the Middle East and beyond -- and they're failing at that as well.

August 2, 2005 - Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld

Millions of Iraqis remain determined to continue that mission, and violent extremists are desperate to stop them.

July 20, 2005 - Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld

That was the true "breeding ground" of the world's menace, not the Sunni triangle, where jihadists are continually under pressure and increasingly desperate.

July 14, 2005 - Hugh Hewitt

further underscores the desperate and evil agenda of terrorists working to undermine progress toward democracy around the world.

July 8, 2005 - Scott McClellan

It's a desperate attempt to halt the political process.

July 5, 2005 - Government Spokesman Laith Kubba

Today’s attack proved the terrorists are desperate and the sovereign government of Iraq stands ready for any challenge.

June 24, 2005 - Major Ross Coffman, xo, 4th BCT, 3rd ID

And I've talked about it the last couple of days. If you look -- if you look at the terrorists and the regime elements that are seeking to derail the transition to democracy, they are in a desperate mode, and here's why.

June 21, 2005 - Scott McClellan

The terrorists and the regime elements are desperate.

June 20, 2005 - Scott McClellan

Here’s the policy point and what the Republicans have stood for and what the American people fundamentally stood for last November – that free and democratic Iraq and Afghanistan, once stabilized, will break the backs of the terror network, and that is why there is a desperate last stand by terrorists, mostly foreign born, going on.

June 20, 2005 - Congressman John Sweeney

Terry, you have a desperate group of terrorists in Iraq that are doing

snip

The Vice President talked about that the other day -- you have a desperate group of terrorists who recognize how high the stakes are in Iraq.

snip

I think I just explained to you the desperation of terrorists and their tactics.

snip

And so this is a period when they are in a desperate mode

June 16, 2005 - Scott McClellan

Well, that's the desperation you see from terrorists and see from regime elements who know that a free and peaceful Iraq is going to deal them a significant blow, and deal a significant blow to their ambitions.

June 13, 2005 - Scott McClellan

The suicide bomber is a weapon of fanatics. But it is also a weapon of desperation.

It is more likely that the increasingly indiscriminate bombings are a desperate effort to fend off destruction as the terrorists are flushed from their hiding places.

June 11, 2005 - Jack Kelly

That makes the insurgents more desperate.

June 8, 2005 - Maj. Gen. William Webster

Attacks that target ordinary Iraqi citizens - represent an act of desperation in a campaign that's failing in its attempt to undermine this government and show that it is weak.

June 5, 2005 - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoyshar Zebari

What you're seeing is a group of frustrated and desperate people who kill innocent life...

May 31, 2005 - President Bush

So suicide attacks, whether in Okinawa or in Baghdad today are not a sign of strength. They're a sign of desperation.

May 26, 2005 - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld

The insurgents in Iraq are active, but increasingly desperate

May 15, 2005 - Jack Kelley

The desperation of the Islamofanatics is evident in such actions as an attempted attack by as many as 50 fighters against a Marine convoy near Qaim a few days ago.

snip

This is a significant development, but as it unfolds, the desperate and futile bloodshed continues, with more and more Sunnis becoming victims as well as Shiites.

May 13, 2005 - TCS hack Ralph Kinney Bennett

These, and other recent tragic incidents, are the desperate acts of those seeking to destabilize the successful democratic political process reflected in the recently elected Transitional Government.

May 11, 2005 - British Foreign Office minister for the Middle East Kim Howells

But it shows that his (al-Zarqawi) organization is getting desperate.

April 29, 2005 - Retired Army Col. David Hunt

We see these attacks as another desperate attempt by the terrorists to discredit the newly formed Iraqi government.

April 29, 2005 - US-led forces statement

desperate acts by desperate individuals

April 26, 2005 - US commanders

These cowardly acts by the desperate terrorist are an attempt to disrupt our pursuit of a free and democratic Iraq

April 25, 2005 - Thair al-Nakib, spokesman for the Iraqi PM

(the attacks were) desperate acts by desperate individuals.

April 25, 2005 - Brig. Gen. John Basilica

Recent new attacks in the past few weeks are a desperate move by the insurgents.

April 23, 2005 - U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Occasional Democrat

But you still have -- and we said there would be difficult days as we continue to move forward in Iraq to help the Iraqi people realize a brighter future -- you still have enemies of freedom who are desperately trying to do everything they can to stop the transition to democracy and freedom in Iraq.

April 21, 2005 -Scott McClellan

(the Insurgents in Iraq are) increasingly desperate.

April 21, 2005 -Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita

The terrorists are getting desperate and that's why they are targeting civilians more and more

April 14, 2005 - Iraq Interior Minister Falah Naqib

They reflect the desperate stage the terrorists reached.

April 14, 2005 - Thaer Nakib
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi spokesman

They're (insurgents) getting desperate, aiming for the big casualty coup.

April 12, 2005 - Senior commander with experience in the area

Belmont Club explains the new desperation among the Iraqi insurgents, and the bad tactical blunders they are making as a result.

April 12, 2005 - (Ret) Major Donald Sensing

As we make political progress I think that those who are determined to interrupt the political process will become, will despair more and more and will therefore resort more and more to desperate measures.

April 7, 2005 - Iraqi representative to the UN, Feisal Amin al-Istrabadi

I think that they're desperate.

March 1, 2005 - Geneneral John Abizaid

So they're trying desperately to undermine Iraq's progress and throw the country into chaos.

February 28, 2005 - President Bush

This progress is not good news for those who desperately sought to wreck the electoral process.

February 14, 2005 - John D. Negroponte, U.S. ambassador to Iraq &
George W. Casey, Jr., commander of the Multinational Forces in Iraq

I eagerly joined my colleagues in support of the president and support of the Iraqi people, who have shown their fortitude in defiance of desperate terrorists.

February 6, 2005 - Representative Geoff Davis

Despite desperate attempts by terrorists to destroy Iraq's future by intimidation and other cowardly acts, Iraqis voted against terror and for democracy.

February 3, 2005 - Falah al-Naquib - Iraqi Minister of the Interior

And freedom - not American policy, not foreign meddling, but freedom itself - is clearly the permanent fear of the terrorist insurgents who desperately want to block this election, or, barring that, to strip it of legitimacy in the eyes of Iraqis and the world.

Terrorist-in-chief in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, in a statement showing just how desperate the insurgents are to prevent democracy from taking root, condemned these elections. "We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who follow this wrong ideology." He went on to brand anyone who took part as an "infidel."

January 28, 2005 - Liar and Fox News Spokesthingy Oliver North

The capture of thugs like al-Kurdi bring the United States and coalition forces that much closer to capturing Zarqawi, an ally of Osama bin Laden, and to confounding the desperate attempts of the terrorists to stop the Jan. 30 elections.

January 27, 2005 - Larry Kudlow

First, our troops will have whatever they need to protect themselves and complete their mission; and second, the United States will stand with the Iraqi people and against the terrorists trying desperately to block democracy and the advance of human rights.

January 26, 2005 - President Bush

The line was that Americans are occupiers. That had more appeal. You don't change your line unless you are desperate

January 23, 2005 - Sabah Kadhim - Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman

Moreover, the election process and the vicious terrorism unleashed against every element of it have exposed the insurgency as not the nationalist resistance that sympathizers in the West pretend it to be but as the desperate opposition by dead-enders to both Iraqi democracy and majority rule.

January 21, 2005 - Charles Krauthammer

The small number that are doing this, intimidating the good people of Iraq, are getting desperate, and they will not be successful.

January 13, 2005 - Major General John Batiste

The insurgents are clearly desperate that they not be cast as fighting a democratically elected Iraqi government -- which is why they are desperately trying to scuttle the elections.

January 10, 2005 - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times

While insurgent activity in Baghdad will likely spike as the Iraqi people approach their elections and the insurgents become more desperate, we will continue to focus on providing an environment in which Iraqis can conduct their elections without insurgent interference.

January 5, 2005 - Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli
U.S. Army's Task Force Baghdad

We have always said that the lead-up to elections at the end of January is going to be tough and we should, unfortunately, expect incidents like this as the desperation of those who don’t want elections to take place increases

January 4, 2005 - British Foreign Office Spokesthing (maybe Jack Straw?)

The terrorists are growing more desperate in their attempts to derail the elections and they're trying to put it all on the line and give it all they can.

December 29, 2004 - U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Hastings

The former regime elements have watched Tikrit . . . slip away from their grasp over a period of time to the point where they have minimal influence over the local situation. They are desperate.

December 29, 2004 - spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division Maj. Neal O'Brien

The Iraqi terrorists are growing increasingly desperate as next month's elections draw closer and closer.

December 29, 2004 - Some guy with a website - John H. Hinderaker

Of course, as events showed at the weekend, we have to steel ourselves for violence to get worse as the insurgents and terrorists make a desperate effort to derail this process.

December 25, 2004 - Prime Minister Tony Blair

Insurgents, who have everything to lose, are desperate to create the perception that elections are not possible

December 22, 2004 - Gen. George W. Casey
Commander of multinational forces in Iraq

DESPERATE MEASURES

Devastated by American assaults, demoralized by the stubborn determination of Iraqis to participate in upcoming elections and to return to a normal and newly democratic life, the radical Islamists are desperate. Their perverted dream of a medieval society dominated by terror is evaporating before their very eyes. The Iraqi people are winning. Thus the terrorists pursue any desperate ploy to disrupt, to delay to terrorize the Iraqi population.

December 22, 2004 - Retired Army officer Frederick J. Chiaventone

The terrorists and Saddam loyalists are desperately seeking to derail the transition to democracy and freedom in Iraq.

That's why they're desperately seeking to derail the transition and attacking our forces, attacking the Iraqi people, attacking innocent civilians.

December 21, 2004 - Scott McClellan

the enemy is on the ropes and desperate to stop the elections.

December 21, 2004 - Retired Army Col. John Antal

The President indicated again last week at Camp Pendleton that as we move forward on elections, the Saddam loyalists and terrorists will become more desperate.

December 12, 2004 - Scott McClellan

I think the insurgents are desperate. They know they can't make an impact attacking coalition forces.

December 06, 2004 - Army Capt. Bill Coppernoll

They're growing more desperate because we're getting closer and closer to a free and democratic Iraq.

That's why they have been desperately trying to derail the transition to democracy

I think I would leave it to the assessment of the commanders on the ground to best explain it, but we've said for quite some time now that as we get closer to holding elections and moving forward on a constitution, and then ultimately electing the leaders of the country, the terrorists and Saddam hold-outs will become more desperate.

December 2, 2004 - Scott McClellan

But we've always said that as we move closer to elections and move forward on building a democratic Iraq, that the terrorists and the Saddam holdouts would become more desperate and seek to derail that transition.

December 1, 2004 - Scott McClellan

Ultimately it is democracy in Iraq that will defeat the insurgents, which is why they are so desperate to stop it.

November 16, 2004 - Prime Minister Blair

We can deal no greater blow to the desperate insurgency than to provide the electorate with the opportunity to choose the path of freedom and the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

November 14, 2004 - Iraq Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari

As those elections draw near, the desperation of the killers will grow and the violence could escalate.

November 12, 2004 - President Bush

So why do the now-surrounded and desperate insurgents in Fallujah think they can prevail, especially after the rout of the Taliban in six weeks and the implementation of a consensual government in less than three years in Afghanistan?

October 29, 2004 - Victor Davis Hanson

The terrorists are desperate.

October 27, 2004 - Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters
(USA, Ret.) Author of"Beyond Baghdad: Postmodern War and Peace."

The desperate executions of unarmed Iraqi security forces show the evil nature of the terrorists we fight. It proves these terrorists are enemies of the Iraqi people, and the American people and everyone who loves freedom

October 26, 2004 - President Bush

Zarqawi lacks political support and is increasingly desperate.

October 21, 2004 - Austin Bay, National Security Specialist

On the contrary, our nihilist enemies who seek to prevent democracy from taking root in the middle of the Arab world will rely on more aggressive and desperate acts of terror as we assist the Iraqi people in moving closer to their vision of a free Iraq.

October 21, 2004 - Stephen A. Myrow, Former COS of the CPA's Transportation Ministry

Iraqi citizens are growing tired of these desperate, brazen and cruel attacks.

October 18, 2004 - Army Lt. Col. James Hutton

That's why the terrorists are fighting with desperate cruelty, because they know their own future is at stake.

October 7, 2004 - President Bush

This is why the terrorists are fighting with desperate cruelty.

October 6, 2004 - President Bush

The enemy ... he’s getting desperate, he’s killing Iraqis. He’s killing your children.

October 3, 2004 - Brig. Gen. Jeffery Hammond

(They are) pretty desperate to keep elections from happening, because it'll be that inertia that's going to propel this country to democracy.

October 2, 2004 - Air Force General Richard B. Myers

The attacks today were those of a desperate enemy, there is no conceivable justification for attacking innocent Iraqi citizens who were celebrating the opening of a water pump station.

October 1, 2004 - Lt Col James Hutton

(They are) pretty desperate to keep elections from happening, because it'll be that inertia that's going to propel this country to democracy.

Sept 30, 2004 - Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers

So the level of violence will be high during this period of time because they're desperate.

Sept 29, 2004 - Vice President Cheney

We have long said, Dick, that as we move closer to free and fair elections for the Iraqi people, that we expect there to be an increase in violence because the terrorists and Saddam loyalists will become more desperate.

Sept 28, 2004 - Scott McClellan

We are inflicting a lot of losses, very heavy losses. ( the insurgents are) becoming more desperate and resorting to suicide bombings

Sept 24 2004 - Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi

They are becoming more deadly because we think they are getting more desperate,

Sept. 23 2004 - Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi

( the insurgents) are, frankly, getting more desperate. We are winning.

Sept. 22 2004 - Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi

It's incredibly hard work, because the terrorists are desperate.

Sept. 22 2004 - President Bush

It's hard work. I don't underestimate the challenges, but don't let the headline of the day - the suicide bomb attacks, which are the acts of desperate criminals - deflect you from the quiet progress, the quiet advancements that are taking place

Sept. 21 2004 - U.S. Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte

It's not getting stronger; it's getting more desperate. We are squeezing out the insurgency.

Sept. 19 2004 - Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi

Islamic fascists are now fighting openly and losing battles, and are increasingly desperate as they realize the democratization process slowly grinds ahead leaving them and what they have to offer by the wayside.

Sept. 16 2004 - Victor Davis Hanson

The violent assaults that have targeted Iraqi civilians and police recruits indicate that insurgents are becoming more desperate in their campaign to derail that nation's quest for democracy.

Sept 16, 2004 - Indianapolis Star Editorial

In Iraq, the brutal Saddam Hussein regime that supported terrorists is no more, though our enemies are making a desperate last stand.

Sept. 9 2004 - Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison

It may mean between now and an Iraqi election and Iraqi constitution that they will be even more desperate.

Sept. 8 2004 - Defense Secretary Rumsfeld

This desperate act of inhumanity will only serve to strengthen our commitment to the Iraqi people

Sept. 6, 2004 - Multinational Force Officials

These attacks underscore the desperation of terrorists in their attempts to halt the progress of democracy and prosperity in Iraq,

Aug. 4, 2004 - Unamed Coalition military officials

Because we have taken this fight to the enemy, because freedom is rising in places they claim as their own, the terrorists are increasingly desperate.

July 9, 2004 - President Bush

Because we've taken the fight to the enemy, because we've been strong and determined to do our duty to protect America, and because freedom is rising in places they claim as their own, the terrorists are desperate, and they are furious.

July 4, 2004 - President Bush

As that day approaches, the enemies of freedom in Iraq are growing ever more desperate.

June 26, 2004 - President Bush

There will be more violence as the enemies of freedom become more desperate.

June 25, 2004 - President Bush

Opponents of a free, democratic Iraq are desperate and will become even more desperate likely in the days ahead.

June 25, 2004 - Senator John Warner, chairman
of the Senate Armed Services Committee

the "terrorist attacks" were designed "to foil the democratic process." He said the enemies of Iraqis are becoming "more desperate."

June 24, 2004 - Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi

terrorists in Iraq will grow more desperate and more violent as Iraqis move closer to gaining sovereignty on June 30.

June 18, 2004 - President Bush

And each step that we take to move closer to transitioning to a sovereign, democratically elected government, the more desperate the terrorists will become

June 17, 2004 - Scott McClellan

think in his remarks he'll touch on the challenges that remain, as well, and talk about how every step we get closer to moving forward on the transfer of sovereignty and moving forward on the election process, the terrorists will become more desperate and seek to become more violent.

June 16, 2004 - Scott McClellan

With each step forward on the path to self-government and self-reliance, the terrorists will grow more desperate and more violent.

June 16, 2004 - President Bush

But it could be that there are at a very desperate stage and they have to do these attacks in order to regain some momentum.

June 16, 2004 - Lieutenant General Thomas F. Metz

However, this violence demonstrates that the terrorists are getting more and more desperate because they are losing

June 4, 2004 - Jim Wilkinson
Deputy National Security Advisor for Communications

while we are making important progress, they are going to continue to become more desperate. We have difficult and tough times ahead, but the terrorists and thugs are becoming more desperate because a free and peaceful Iraq is taking hold.

May 20, 2004 - Scott McClellan

As June 30 approaches, the enemies of freedom grow even more desperate to prevent the rise of democracy in Iraq. That's what you're seeing on your TV screens. The desperate tactics of a hateful few.

May 20, 2004 - President Bush

Primarily as we get closer and closer to handover of sovereignty to the people of Iraq, we believe these groups are getting more and more desperate in their attempt to try to derail the process of you moving on to sovereignty.

May 10, 2004 - Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt

They are desperate to try to hold out. They are desperate to try to turn back the hands of time, and that just isn't going to happen.

May 6, 2004 - Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt

As the date for Iraq's transition to self-government approaches, those opposed to a free Iraq will grow increasingly desperate.

April 7, 2004 - Defense Secretary Rumsfeld

Today's attack and those likely to be launched in the future — particularly those involving civilians -- are signs of desperation and cowardice among foreign terrorists and former regime elements in Iraq.

March 31, 2004 - Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt

We see this enemy taking the shape of former regime elements, extremists, as well as foreign fighters and international terrorists. Those cells, I believe, are becoming extremely desperate and isolated.

snip

To me, that indicates the desperate nature of our enemy in that regard

March 9, 2004 - Army Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham

These cowardly attacks by desperate terrorists will not succeed in stopping the people of Iraq along the road to democracy, notably after the signing of the temporary constitution.

March 2, 2004 - Intifadh Kanbar, INC Spokesman

The closer we get to standing up a democracy in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists become, and that's why we've seen the attacks we saw today.

March 2, 2004 - Vice President Cheney

But all of those things make the terrorists more and more desperate... again, as I say, I think it's a measure of how desperate the terrorists have become, that they're willing to launch that kind of strike at religious sites.

March 2, 2004 - Vice President Cheney

The general said the letter-writer's recommendation of instigating sectarian violence in Iraq "is almost a sign of desperation.

Feb. 9, 2004 - Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt

As anti-coalition forces become more desperate I expects a change in tactics.

Jan. 22, 2004 - Maj. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno

These forces are desperate to stop the planned installation of an interim Iraqi government in June.

Dec. 13, 2003 - Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez

These forces have no vision for the future except a government that kills, intimidates and imposes fear on the people, and who are desperate to return to power.

November 25, 2003 - Gen. John Abizaid

Well, I would call it a desperate attempt by people, who were totally in control of government through tyrannical means, to regain power.

November 17, 2003 - President Bush

there are terrorists who are desperate and they will continue to try to target the progress we are making. And the more progress we make, the more desperate they tend to become.

November 10, 2003 - Scott McClellan

desperate attacks on innocent civilians will not intimidate us, or the brave Iraqis and Afghans who are joining in their own defense and who are moving toward self-government.

October 30, 2003 - President Bush

The more progress we make on the ground, the more free the Iraqis become, the more electricity that's available, the more jobs are available, the more kids that are going to school, the more desperate these killers become,

October 28, 2003 - President Bush

Their desperate attacks on innocent civilians will not intimidate us, or the brave Iraqis and Afghans who are joining in their own defense and who are moving toward self-government.

October 28, 2003 - President Bush

But what you're really seeing is that the more progress we make, the more desperate these killers become

October 27, 2003 - Scott McClellan

I will repeat myself, that the more progress we make on the ground, the more free the Iraqis become, the more electricity is available, the more jobs are available, the more kids that are going to school, the more desperate these killers become, because they can't stand the thought of a free society.

October 27, 2003 - President Bush

But I believe there will be a time when they become more and more desperate, that the regime loyalists will look to go to foreign fighters and try to integrate with them, but we have not seen that so far.

snip

But I think when they get desperate, they might -- the former regime loyalists then might go to some use of foreign fighters. And I think we're starting to see a little bit of that now because they're starting to get a little bit desperate

snip

I mean, to me, that is fairly desperate measures.

snip

You know, it appears to me they're getting more and more desperate.

snip

They are not against military forces, it's not about war, this is about attacking civilian people; this is about attacking their own people, and I think it's desperate.

snip

And again, I think that's why we're seeing some of these attacks we're seeing that I think are really fairly desperate.

snip

I think the reason they're doing this is because they want to get as much attention as they can, and they're becoming more and more desperate each day.

October 27, 2003 - Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno

We are getting the job done despite the desperate acts of a dying regime of criminals.

Oct. 26, 2003 - Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz

And we are confronting that danger in Iraq, where Saddam hold outs and foreign terrorists are desperately trying to throw Iraq into chaos.

October 15, 2003 - President Bush

Iraq is the central front in the war on terror and remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime and terrorists from foreign countries are making a desperate stand there

October 15, 2003 - Coalition Provisional Authority

That's what I said, that it's important for the American people to hear the full story. Again, what you see is the more progress we make, the more desperate the holdouts of Saddam Hussein's regime and foreign terrorists become.

October 14, 2003 - Scott McClellan

the more progress we make, the more desperate the Saddam hold-outs and foreign terrorists will become. They are desperate because of the progress we are making.

October 10, 2003 - Scott McClellan

Iraq is now the central front in the war on terror. Enemies of freedom are making a desperate stand there, and there they must be defeated.

October 9, 2003 - Dr. Condi Rice

We're on the offensive against the desperate holdouts and Saddam loyalists who oppose progress in Iraq.

October 4, 2003 - President Bush

are foreign terrorists who are desperate because of the success and the progress that we are making in Iraq on behalf of the Iraqi people.

September 17, 2003 - Scott McClellan

You have some remnants -- you have remnants of a regime that we removed, that was an oppressive regime, that is desperate -- more and more desperate every single day, because of the progress we are making on many fronts in Afghanistan.

September 17, 2003 - Scott McClellan

The more we make progress in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists will become.

September 11, 2003 - Ambassador John J. Danilovich

Unfortunately, the more progress we make in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists will become.

September 11, 2003 - Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson

Unfortunately, the more progress we make in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists will become.

September 11, 2003 - US Consul-General in James Keith

both members of the old regime and foreign terrorists who have come to Iraq -- are making a desperate stance to reclaim this liberated nation for tyranny.

September 10, 2003 - Progress Report on War on Terror

terrorists are desperate because we are making some very important progress in Iraq in a very important region of the world.

September 9, 2003 - Scott McClellan

Iraq is now the central front in the War on Terror. Enemies of freedom are making a desperate stand there.

September 9, 2003 - President Bush

But they are a sign, not of strength, but of the weakness and desperation of the terrorists or criminals involved.

September 5, 2003 - Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld

They are desperate, and their desperation is coming as a result of the progress that we are making.

September 5, 2003 - Scott McClellan

I think what you have seen in the recent attacks is how desperate the remnants of the former regime are and how desperate the foreign terrorists are because we are making some important progress.

September 2, 2003 - Scott McClellan

As success during this period of transition continues to mount, the opponents of success and of a free Iraq may continue their desperate acts.

August 2p, 2003 - President Bush

His [Ayatollah al-Hakim's] murder today, along with the murder of many innocent men and women gathered for prayer, demonstrates the cruelty and desperation of the enemies of the Iraqi people.

August 28, 2003 - President Bush

And the more progress we make in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists will become.

August 28, 2003 - Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld

This progress makes the remaining terrorists even more desperate and willing to lash out against symbols of order and hope, like coalition forces and U.N. personnel.

August 26, 2003 - President Bush

And I think part of what you're seeing and what you've heard the President talk about is that the terrorists are seeing the progress that's being made, and that is making them more desperate.

August 26, 2003 - Claire Buchan

Progress makes the remaining terrorists even more desperate and willing to lash out against symbols of order and hope like coalition forces and U.N. personnel.

August 23, 2003 - President Bush

"But it was a major error on their part to attack the U.N. It does show they are getting desperate.

August 21, 2003 - Gen. McInerney

Every sign of progress in Iraq adds to the desperation of the terrorists and the remnants of Saddam's brutal regime.

August 19, 2003 - President Bush

The enemy is growing desperate.

August 21, 2003 - Victor Davis Hanson

who have no desire or ability to fit into this new, free Iraq, not surprisingly, are becoming more and more desperate.

July 2, 2003 - Ambassador Paul Bremer

By taking the offensive against desperate killers, Americans in uniform are assuming great risks for our country.

July 30, 2003 - President Bush

I think they're desperate, I think they're becoming less and less organized.

June 18, 2003 - Maj. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno

Centralized power of the dictator has ended -- yet, in parts of Iraq, desperate and dangerous elements remain.

April 15, 2003 - President Bush

Until this war is fully won, we cannot be overconfident in our position, and we must not underestimate the desperation of whatever forces remain loyal to the dictator.

April 9, 2003 - Vice President Cheney

Our enemies are desperate and dangerous.

April 2, 2003 - President Bush

We know that our enemies are desperate; we know that they're dangerous.

March 31, 2003 - President Bush

the President said, "Military conflict could be difficult. An Iraqi regime faced with its own demise may attempt cruel and desperate measures. There is no easy or risk-free course of action."

March 28, 2003 - Ari Fleischer

As they approach Baghdad, our fighting units are facing the most desperate elements of a doomed regime.

March 27, 2003 - President Bush

forces encountered today are probably the reactions of desperate people that are trying to save a doomed regime.

March 23, 2003 - Lt. Gen. John Abizaid,

See your orders for what they are, the last desperate gasp of a dying regime.

March 22, 2003 - Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld