"Terrorists can't destroy a country, much less the most powerful country in the world. Terrorists are terrorists precisely due to their incapacity to beat you militarily. The only victory they can hope to achieve is to convince you by fear to behave in self-defeating ways. If you look at it from this perspective, in the present case the terrorists are winning. Americans are in panic, they are giving up their own civil rights, freedom of the press is moribund, debt is mounting and the country is deeply divided. Furthermore, the United States have lost most their moral high ground, have alienated their friends and are universally viewed with scorn. Mr Bin Laden, contrarily to the US administration, has long-term goals. He believes if you shoot yourselves repeatedly on the foot it will eventually turn into a gangrene. You are enthusiastically trying to help him prove his point."