Why Has the United States Not Been Attacked Again?

Boyd et al explore why the US homeland has not been attacked again successfully. They believe that the most reassuring reason is that US and allied efforts have prevented further attacks. They identify the factors that have contributed to the lull in homeland attacks, including the value of US counterterrorism policies and the terrorists' responses to the changed milieu. Moreover, they explore four different sets of explanations have emerged to explain the lack of attack with an emphasis on terrorist capabilities and terrorist motivations. The first set of explanations is typified by Bush's argument on the fifth anniversary of Sep 11 when he stated that the absence of domestic attacks is not for the lack of desire or determination on the part of the enemy. Instead, effective US security policies have kept the nation secure. A closely related set of explanations argues that Al Qaeda has not struck again because it lacks the capabilities to do so. A third set of explanations suggests that terrorists, and especially Al Qaeda, have decided that another attack on the US is ill-advised for the time being. The final set, pointing to continuing US involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, argues that terrorists simply have other priorities than attacking the US.