Where'd you get that idea? Al Qaeda's not out there looking to convert us. They are looking to cripple the USA and UK and an ssortment of other govenments they consider to be annoying [many of them coincidentally the ones that annoyed Saddam Hussein, too]- and they go about killing people who annoy them too. That does not require them to convert us to their views, nor does it require them to advertise their successes. They need advertise only minor actions to gain recruits, and they can do that with the occasional head-lopping of some 'fearsome' enemy of Islam like a truckdriver or Iraqi barber, all of which makes Islamic radicals feel more macho and gives them the illusion of being empowered. Al Qaeda is notorious for NOT taking credit for what they do. In the past they've used fabricated names on occasion, but they have not felt compelled to advertise in ways other terrorist groups have done. They typically do not call up the FBI and announce "Dear feebies : Al Qaeda did it! Sincerely, bin Laden."
They lack the means to force people into accepting their beliefs.
they're not interested in forcing us to accept their beliefs- they are content to try to kill those who don't.
Like the Soviets would do when they invaded countries and instituted communism.
The Soviets were looking to hold territory, and so they had to try that. Al Qaeda is looking to get rid of us- a much easier task than converting people, though they still underestimated how formidable a task that would be since Bin Laden based the idea on how quickly the US curled its tail up under itself in the past in Beirut, Somalia, etc and didn't consider that there would be a different reaction from a different administration.
So they blow up a building or plane here and there. Which in and of itself isnt going to do much of anything to bring a country to its knees. Especially one as powerful as ours.
Knocking down a few buildings, putting a smoking hole in another, and scuffing up a Pennsylvania field ended up wreaking havoc on the stock market, the airline industry, the aviation industry as a whole, travel and tourism, the oil market, insurance companies, etc- it walloped the snot out of us economically. It also resulted in some things al Qaeda didn't expect- namely that they'd get their butts kicked from country to country all across the world, lose their training camps, lose their Taliban territory, get one of their financial backers removed from power, get two countries liberated, and expose Qadeer Khan's proliferation efforts- but still, for almost no cost one organization of Islamic nutbags did give us one heck of a black eye.
If they had been able to pull off the west coast attacks, too, the economic damage to would have been exponentially worse. And if their assassintion plans for the US had worked like they did on Massoud in afghanistan, it's hard to say how much damage that would do to our ability to form and lead a coalition requiring global resources and ports to sustain.
If they had had any other administration, they may have succeeded far more. The reaction may not have lead to war and regime change in the ME but instead, only to a criminal investigation, etc.
Excellent post.
Where'd you get that idea?
It's what terrorists have always done. Terrorism by definition.
ter·ror·ism
n.
The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.
If they're trying to kill us off then they better try harder. They're Kill:Death ratio isnt very good. They're the equivalent of some rock throwing arabs to our military.
I dont really think out-killing us is their intent. If it is then we dont have much to fear. Famous last words? Hope not :-P
The liberals will do more to destroy this country than Al Qaeda ever will.