What was the impact of the September 11th attacks?
The September 11th attacks had a series of different consequences. They obviously triggered the War on Terror, which itself has had a series of consequences. In practical terms Al-Qaeda lost their best sanctuary to date, which was Afghanistan. That is still seen by many Al-Qaeda militants as a tactical error, a strategic error. What they did do with September 11th and the subsequent reaction to it, which they’d hoped to provoke, was bring about a situation of greatly increased radicalization, mobilization, and consciousness amid their target audience, which is Muslims around the world — in the West, in the Middle East, and elsewhere.
