Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld issued a statement on Twitter in response to the attacks in Brussels.
"With the goal of stopping radical Islamic terrorists from attacking innocent men and women, our response cannot be defense alone — it will require offense," he said in the statement.
Rumsfeld was secretary of defense under former President George W. Bush during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Preemptive strikes became a key part of Bush's strategy, including the Iraq invasion in 2003 in which the administration said Iraq was stockpiling weapons that posed a threat to the United States.
"A terrorist can attack at any moment of the day or night, using any technique," said Rumsfeld in his tweet. "It is not possible to defend at every moment. We must go after the terrorists, one by one, if we are to reduce the carnage they are bringing across the globe.""
Rumsfeld discussed the war on terror in an
interview with Hugh Hewitt in February.
He said terrorists have grown more skilled, and that "the lethality of a terrorist is geometrically greater today."
About leadership in the face of terror attacks, Rumsfeld told Hewitt, "We're losing. And the reason we're losing is because of the lack of leadership. That's the only reason. We have stepped back."
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