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---
title: Paris Attacks: Read the CIA Director's Thoughts
description: CIA Director John Brennan talked about his thoughts on the Paris attacks, ISIS and the possibility of terrorism on U.S. soil Monday.
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article:published_time: 2015-11-16T18:31:21.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:40:00.623Z
article:section: Politics
og:title: Read the CIA Director's Thoughts on the Paris Attacks
og:description: Here are his full remarks from an appearance Monday.
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og:image:alt: CIA Director John Brennan greets colleagues after delivering remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies November 16, 2015 in Washington, DC. Brennan spoke during the 6th annual "Global Security Forum" on the top challenges facing U.S.
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twitter:description: Here are his full remarks from an appearance Monday.
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3f7c38f5ee50595/69887144bc6cfc3f8a3da674/john-brennan-paris-attacks.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Read the CIA Director's Thoughts on the Paris Attacks

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4MTtdsM7.m3u8" -->
## Video: A Timeline of the Paris Attacks

[Watch (HLS stream): A Timeline of the Paris Attacks](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4MTtdsM7.m3u8) (2:44)

![A Timeline of the Paris Attacks](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/4MTtdsM7/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2015-11-14. A Timeline of Paris Attacks_


by 

[Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/)


## Ryan Teague Beckwith


Nov 16, 2015 6:31 PM UTC

by 

[Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/)


## Ryan Teague Beckwith


Nov 16, 2015 6:31 PM UTC

CIA Director John Brennan talked about his thoughts on the Paris attacks, ISIS and the possibility of terrorism on U.S. soil Monday.

In a previously arranged appearance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, Brennan [said it is likely that ISIS has other attacks planned](http://time.com/4114605/paris-attacks-john-brennan-isis/).

Below is a transcript of his remarks, courtesy of CSIS.

---

> “”

---


## Transcript

[ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ NOISE ] [ SOUND ] [ FOREIGN ] [ INAUDIBLE ] [ NOISE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I was eating at a restaurant with a friend of mine, all of a sudden we heard huge gunshots and lots of glass coming through the window. So we ducked onto the floor with all the other diners. It is a terrible, terrible even that is upon us. In this harsh moment, think about the victims who are vary numberous. For their families, for their wounded. [ FOREIGN ] Everybody was on the floor covering their head, and we heard so many gunshots. The terrorists were very calm. Very determinated and they reloaded three or four times with their weapons.

There were no empty rooms, so that, it was easy for them. This is an attack not just on Paris, it's an attack not just on. The people of France but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

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