You&#x27;re assuming that what the terrorists want is to e.g. have the US invade Iraq. You&#x27;re assuming the terrorists want <i>anything in particular</i>, instead of being irrational criminally insane crackpots.<p>Unless by &quot;the terrorists&quot; you mean the people who make money when governments and people overreact to terrorism. For them it seems quite effective. But presumably they aren&#x27;t the ones actually carrying out the attacks, they&#x27;re just the ones exploiting the loss of human life to gain filthy lucre.