Empowered Muslims Embrace Violence to Topple West
Well, it has truly hit the fan in France. And, allegedly, Australia has nabbed seventeen alleged terrorists allegedly working to allegedly blow up some alleged place; probably the Sydney Opera House or Harbor Bridge, according to The Scotsman. But l put it to you, good JU reader, that this current violence has its roots in the happenings of 9/11. But what is happening now is not the work of al-Qaeda.
Let me make this perfectly clear once again: this violence is not from al-Qaeda. Neither were the London bombings. Both events, despite the fact that one is ongoing, were caused by disaffected, unhappy Muslim youth. In fact, the London bombers were Londoners and Yorkshiremen, not Saudi like the majority (if not all) of the 9/11 hijackers. This current violence does not fit the modus operandi of an al-Qaeda operation.
What I see happening is that the Muslim fanatics were very empowered by their toppling of the Soviet Union in their conquest of Afghanistan (yes, it was with our help, but they leave that out). They then turned their attention to other parts of the world that were causing the Muslims grief: America and Europe. In Europe, Muslims for centuries had been persecuted and made to suffer, as far back as the Inquisition, the Crusades, and more recnetly, current immigration reform due to "too many Turks in Germany", etc. So al-Qaeda started a systematic campaign against the West.
1993: World Trade Center bombing. According to Wikipedia,
A Kuwaiti man named Ramzi Yousef began in 1991 to plan a bombing attack within the United States. Yousef's uncle Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, considered "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks", gave him advice and tips over the phone, and funded him with a US$660 wire transfer.
Ramzi Yousef, who was not linked to al-Qaeda as such but funded by his uncle, Khalid Shaikh Mohamed (soon to be involved heavily with UBL himself), detonated a bomb in the basement of the WTC and was jailed for the rest of his life. A slap on the wrist for the Arab world.
1998: 
US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya are bombed simultaneously. 302 dead, Clinton fires cruise missiles into a Sudanese camp where they think UBL may be located. They must have already known an attack was coming, since they were long gone from the site. Four men given life imprisonment. (See above for Muslim outrage at life imprisonment.)
Once again, America rolls over and plays dead in the face of blatant terrorist attacks. Were we fat, dumb, and happy because nothing happened here?
1998: Yet another attack on a US entity, this time a warship parked in the port of Aden. No retaliation whatsoever. What kind of message is this sending al Qaeda and the world of radical Islam?
All this time, the mosques were fertile ground for teaching young, lower-class, unemployed Muslim males who didn't have anything better to do with themselves. Like a cult, the imams seized upon this social despair and said, "Hey, why don't you learn a special secret about Islam? Why don't you go to Pakistan or Afghanistan to learn about what you can do as a Muslim? Show the world what you are capable of..."
2001: The world lurched sideways on September 11th. No explanation necessary. It showed the world that --
1. America was vulnerable.
2. Al-Qaeda could strike with impunity at any American target, at home or abroad.
There was dancing in the streets and cheering throughout certain parts of the world. We subsequently moved on to invade both Afghanistan and Iraq, dismantling perceived threats to our country.
Were there lessons learned by radical Islam from 9/11? Oh yes, they were learned. What was the message sent throughout the world on 9/11? The message was not "We're going to destroy America." Or even, "We're going to reconstruct a Muslim caliphate." It was, in the words of Twisted Sister, "We're not going to take it anymore." Al-Qaeda no longer had to be the ringleader, calling all the shots and financing terror throughout the globe. The torch was passed, rage was copied, and European-born Muslims started taking the lead. Richard Reid (the shoe bomber) was from South London, not Baluchistan. The London bombers were British and trained in Pakistan. These people have not grown from al-Qaeda... they were inspired by al-Qaeda and their victory on September 11.