Re: Why has there been no repeat of 9/11?
 

In Afghanistan how can you catch the bad guys when the government in charge is a direct ally and supporter of them.

If you going to remove them, don't you have to put something in place to prevent a power vacumm and chaos, which aids the enemy,

Re: Why has there been no repeat of 9/11?
 

Invading Afghanistan was necessary. If anything, we were too easy on them immediately after 9/11. However, continuing occupation is not likely to be productive. A power vacuum and chaos seems to be the natural state of Afghanistan. No matter when we leave Afghanistan or Iraq, a government we don't like will probably take power. If they start harboring terrorists again, we will have to deal with them. Invading and occupying all of south Asia, because people we don't like may rule there is not a viable strategy.

Smoke On The Water
 

[ QUOTE ]
If you asked most people on 9/12/2001, they would have never predicted that there would not be another major terrorist attack in the US.

[/ QUOTE ]And if you asked most people on 9/10/2001, they would have never predicted that there WOULD be a major terrorist attack in the US.

So what? Humans have a documented, very strong tendency to believe that things will continue on their current path. E.g. if the stock market rises, it will continue to rise indefinitely.

[ QUOTE ]
Why has there been no repeat of 9/11?

[/ QUOTE ] You keep underestimating those guys. You truly think they will go at ya the same way? They won't. You can bet all your chips on it!

My guess would be (in case they want to re-send a message they have already delivered) sea ports. Wide, wide open opportunities.

Re: Why has there been no repeat of 9/11?
 

Someone referred to them earlier as "buffoons", (funny thing is that he had a higher gpa in college than the other presidential canidate did), but I believe the Bush administration is doing several things right. Look at how many plots have been disrupted.

Also, contrary to what some lib's believe, the war in Iraq is also working to do this. It is a hell of alot easier logistically for them to fight us there than here. The benefit for us is they have to fight our military which is what our military is supposed to do.

Re: Smoke On The Water
 

[ QUOTE ]
You keep underestimating those guys. You truly think they will go at ya the same way? They won't. You can bet all your chips on it!

My guess would be (in case they want to re-send a message they have already delivered) sea ports. Wide, wide open opportunities.

[/ QUOTE ]

To clarify, by "Repeat of 9/11", I meant a major terrorist attack in the US. I did not mean specifically hijacked airplanes.

Re: Why has there been no repeat of 9/11?
 

You forgot the conspiracy option. Excellent post.

Re: Why has there been no repeat of 9/11?
 

The reason that al quaeda hasn't attacked is the next attack will have to be bigger than the last one to resonate with the Arab public. Otherwise it will seem as if they are losing ground rather than gaining it.

So they are biding there time and fighting more important battles (to them). Remember there audience is the Arab public, they can never defeat America militarily or overthrow it government and that's not there objective. This isn't Palestine vs. Israel where the objective is something tangable like land. This is for the hearts and minds of muslims and the terrorists are looking to win arabs not hurt American civillians, per se.

Which do you think would impress Arabs more, getting the US out of Afghanistan and/or Iraq, or knocking down a major US landmark?

Fire In The Sky
 

[ QUOTE ]
To clarify, by "Repeat of 9/11", I meant a major terrorist attack in the US. I did not mean specifically hijacked airplanes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Which is why, in terms of game theory, the terrorists now have the upper hand in their confrontation with the United States. The terrorists have "announced" that no rules whatsoever will be respected and that no one and nothing is outside their target list. And, at the same time, they delivered a hit that "confirmed" both the veracity of such a threat and their ability to carry it out.

The United States, therefore, is theoretically obligated to guard everything against everybody!

(Its response? Send the army thousands of miles away to finagle a regime change. Tsk tsk tsk.)

Re: Why has there been no repeat of 9/11?
 

Why bother?

We have tied ourselves in knots, wasted billions on Iraq, they have our full attention, we are gutting the American system of true freedoms without help from them.

So, if you were bin ladin why bother? He got us all wound up and now he can just watch us fall all over our own feet.

Re: Why has there been no repeat of 9/11?
 

You really think 9/11 was about impressing the Arabs?