With the exception of Woodrow Wilson's mention of terrorism in the Soviet Union in 1918; there are few remarks made before the administration of Richard Nixon on the subject of terrorism. Global terrorism reared its head in the late 1960s, before that America and the rest of the world lived a charmed life in that respect. It is perhaps no coincidence that advances in; and maturation of, the televised media, and modern transportation coming of age occurred at the same time as interstate terrorism matured.

"There are those who protest that if the verdict of democracy goes against them, democracy itself is at fault ? who say that if they do not get their own way the answer is to burn a bus or bomb a building."
Richard Nixon, September 16, 1970,
Address at Kansas State University.

"International terrorism is not exclusively and Arab-Israeli problem; it is an international problem, which the United States has made a major international effort to combat. But a generation of frustration among displaced Palestinians has made the Middle East a particular focal point for such violence….The recent murders of one Belgian and two American diplomats in Khartoum underscore the global dimension of the terrorist problem."
Richard Nixon, May 3, 1973,
From the Forth Annual Report to the Congress on US Foreign Policy.

"I call upon all nations to join in this vital endeavor. I particularly urge those countries which have not become parties to these conventions to do so. I hope that a new initiative against terrorism, as it affects innocent persons and disrupts the fabric of society, will be addressed at the current session of the United Nations General Assembly. The full force of world opinion and diplomatic action must be brought to bear on this threat to world peace and order."
Gerald R. Ford, October 10, 1976,
Statement on Signing the International Terrorism Prevention Bill.

"The murder of ABC correspondent Bill Stewart in Nicaragua is a tragedy for his family, his friends, and for freedom loving people everywhere. Bill Stewart was a dedicated and courageous journalist. At the time of his death, he was attempting to perform the highest duty of the American press: to inform the public on important issues of the day."
Jimmy Carter, June 28, 1979,
Telegram to ABC.

"There are skilled and professional terrorists out there right now, examining our vulnerabilities and building devices designed to kill Americans - lots of Americans. No matter what we do, we are going to be vulnerable."
General P.X. Kelly, USMC
Statement to the US Congress in 1983.

"There are no specific or definite threats that any of us know of here. We only know that worldwide there has been a call in a number of these terrorist groups for stepped-up violence. The term "United States" has been used as a potential target."
Ronald Reagan, December 20, 1983,
News Conference.

"The Legislation I am sending to the Congress is an important step in our war against terrorism. It will send a strong and vigorous message to friend and foe alike that the United States will not tolerate terrorist activity against its citizens or within its borders."
Ronald Reagan, April 26, 1984
Message to the Congress Transmitting Proposed Legislation to Combat International Terrorism.

"We have been through a period in our history where we had what I would call terrorism, and it is probably before you were born, or maybe about that time. You remember the hijackings or airplanes in this country to go to Cuba? We forget that, we forget that we went through a rash of those hijackings….To hijack an airplane at gun point and instruct the pilot to go elsewhere, fly to Cuba, that's international terror. So we have been through that."
George H. W. Bush, May 28, 1989,
Q and A with Students: James Madison High School, Vienna, Virginia.

"….all of us policymakers from top to bottom underestimated the degree of terrorist threat which could be presented to our men and women in uniform, and they don't deserve that. They deserve the best possible decision making by us."
William Clinton, December 13, 1996,
At a news conference talking about the bombing of the US Khobar Towers building in Saudi Arabia.

"I can hear you. I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."
George W. Bush, September 14, 2001,
Impromptu Remarks at the World Trade Center Site in New York City.