WHAT IF... 9/11 HAD BEEN FOILED?

The article examines the impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on US foreign policy and domestic security, exploring how preventing the attacks might have altered subsequent events. It highlights that while US intelligence was aware of al-Qaeda threats prior to 9/11, the attacks nonetheless prompted a dramatic expansion of surveillance powers, including the Patriot Act, and intensified Islamophobia. The piece argues that without 9/11, the US likely would not have launched the "War on Terror" as known, particularly the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, though interventionist tendencies and covert actions in the Middle East may have continued. It also suggests that future terrorist attacks were probable regardless, given al-Qaeda’s ongoing hostility and US entanglement in Middle Eastern conflicts. [Extracted from the article]