For their part, terrorist groups, recognizing that they cannot defeat a conventional military in a direct war, attempt to use governments’ own power against them. With violent theatrics, Osama bin Laden outraged and provoked the US, driving it to overreact in ways that destroyed its credibility, weakened its alliances in the Muslim world, and ultimately exhausted its military – and, in a sense, its society.
恐怖组织明白他们无法在直接战争中打赢传统军队，因此尝试利用政府本身的力量对付它们。本·拉登利用暴力事件激怒和挑衅美国，让美国行动过激以至于破坏自己的信誉，削弱美国的穆斯林世界盟友，最终疲惫其军队——某种程度上说，也疲惫其社会。