Why hasn't America been Attacked since 911?

This is the start of an interesting set of articles on Slate regarding prevalent theories as to why we have not been the target of another terrorist attack. The first one is "because terrorists are dumb". It's an interesting read so far and promises to be moreso as it gets into theories that mean we should be more worried.

http://www.slate.com/id/2208971/

There not dumb by any means, but this quote sums it up (hopefully)

According to Lawrence Wright, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Looming Tower: Al-Qaida and the Road to 9/11, nearly 80 percent of al-Qaida's Afghanistan-based membership was killed in the U.S. invasion; intelligence estimates suggest al-Qaida's current membership may be as low as 200 or 300.

The best way to keep a freak muslim down is dead. Then there will never be a question about should have or could have had him earlier.

talking to self....Oh man Oh man..... don't talk politics...don't talk politics....

Oh man......

🤘

I don't think that this is politics really. I'm not really planning to add much to this until I've read all the pieces. Not that I think that there is necessarily one correct answer, but it's more of an in depth look than anything else that I've seen.

Today is the Near Enemy theory or the idea that they aren't stupid, they are just concentrating their efforts in overturning regimes in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

I really think Afghanistan and Pakistan are the key's to defeating the terrorist that have attacked us. Sure, their are other terrorist groups, but their goals are regional centric and for the most part, don't include us.

That's what the "near enemy" argument says essentially. I didn't realize that Al-Queda was the only terrorist group that has the US as a target. I'm guessing the others have seen how well that worked for them and decided to do something else 😈

Nah the "near enemy" idea is 100% false.

Much like why people hate M$, Why I was unable to goto a gym and weightlift to myself. The big guy at the top of the totem pole is always a target for those smaller people who are trying to show their dominance. To some extent we have terrorists after us because we are the global power. Belgium has free elections, you don't see they are a target. If its about religious ideology and hatred of our morals, why isn't Europe and the netherlands the target?? They are closer too. We are the target because we are the top dog.

If Al-Qaida dissappears some group will fill their spot. The key is effectiveness, al-qaida was effective once in the US, others haven't been.

Europe is a Target. Spain has been hit multiple times. England at least once by muslim based terriorist with ties to the middle east. I believe Germany and one of the Dutch country's have been the target of major failed plots.

Al queda hates us because of our so called support of repressive regimes in the middle east. Which is kind of strange as they want to implement muslim law, which is very repressive itself.

It's all about who is doing the oppressing...

Atomm wrote:Europe is a Target. Spain has been hit multiple times. England at least once by muslim based terriorist with ties to the middle east. I believe Germany and one of the Dutch country's have been the target of major failed plots.

Al queda hates us because of our so called support of repressive regimes in the middle east. Which is kind of strange as they want to implement muslim law, which is very repressive itself.

I am convinced its like you say more or less, Atomm.

It was difficult to find his name because it is french. This journalist has written a book about islam. He is a specialist when it comes to relations with the arab world. He has friends among the leaders which are critizised by their own tho. More or less what he says is that the Koran itself cannot be interpretated as an instruction for terrorism. But yes there are movements and basically this followers of this religion want world power. Its implicated in the thing itself.
Peter Scholl-Latour
Well, it does not say much in the english version, but in the german its a full article. This man is cool.

Did anyone read all of these? I found them interesting. Any and all of them are probably true to some extent. Some of it is that Bush kept us safe, some is that terrorists are focused in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc....

Sarge wrote:Did anyone read all of these? I found them interesting. Any and all of them are probably true to some extent. Some of it is that Bush kept us safe, some is that terrorists are focused in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc....

That was a great read. They gathered a lot of news items from over the years into a short series of articles, allowing you to refresh your memory, and consider them all in context.

I think the lack of Muslim extremist attacks on US soil is due to a multitude of reasons.

We've killed 2/3's of the ppl associated with the 9/11, and those we didn't kill have been hiding in caves, in the mountains, for several years, afraid of UAV air-strikes.

Our intelligence community got their shit together(more so, anyway), and a better job is done screening ppl coming into the US.

With the US becoming more difficult to hit, closer, easier targets are sought.

Some of the folks that would've liked to cause trouble for the US went to Iraq, where many of them were killed.

There were many things that could be, and needed to be, done. Many of them have been done, to differing degrees. So far, it's worked.

DocJon wrote:We've killed 2/3's of the ppl associated with the 9/11, and those we didn't kill have been hiding in caves, in the mountains, for several years, afraid of UAV air-strikes.

That is a big one I think. Something like 80% of Al Queda personnel have been killed in Afghanistan iirc. I hadn't realized until I read this that only Al Queda has as a stated goal the destruction of the US. From the media and government hype, you would have thought every terrorist group out there was "after us". But if they are really the only external group targeting us, and 80% of their people are dead, the ability to organize and carry out an attack would seem to be much diminished.