Nobody who was paying attention took that rationale seriously.
It has yet to be demonstrated that the root causes of AQ's war on the US are the same as those that "fuel the widespread revolutions sweeping the Middle East". I have yet to see it convincingly argued that AQ's war on the US was a reaction to American policy. The assumption that this is the case seems to me a very shaky basis for policy.
Addressing root causes is never a bad thing, but you can't address them unless you have a clear idea of what they are and a concrete, realistic plan to alter them. Do we have either?
I would be very hesitant to draw a parallel between AQs war and the troubles in Ireland. The similarities seem rather superficial and the differences very profound.
I agree, vehemently, that the term "war on terror" is absurd and should be retired.
I also agree that the string of attacks that culminated an 9/11 were not attacks on "freedom" or "democracy".
It's possible that for the people who carried out the attacks, "an external enemy was... a unifying way of addressing some of their own frustrations". I don't think that was an issue at all for the people who provided the planning and support that allowed the attacks to happen.
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