When al-Qaeda struck the US on September 11, 2001, the attack was used as a pretext by the security establishment to launch its long-desired war to topple Saddam. When the Arab Spring protests erupted a decade later, the US security establishment viewed the sudden vulnerability of the Qaddafi and Assad regimes as a similar opportunity to install new regimes in Libya and Syria.
2001年9月11日，基地组织袭击了美国，这场袭击被美国安全体系作为借口发动了其酝酿已久的颠覆萨达姆的战争。十年后，阿拉伯之春暴动爆发，美国安全体系认为卡扎菲和巴沙尔政权的急转直下是类似的机会，可以利用它们扶持利比亚和叙利亚的新政权。无如论如何，理论上就是如此。