Vindicating American Democracy by Terrell E. Arnold

The most vital effect of 9-11 in this sense was that it provided the rationale for abandoning defense budget conservatism and, as proposed in PNAC, for increasing defense spending. The American public was too shocked, too troubled by the events and too uninformed about neoconservative intentions as spelled out in the PNAC to pose any objections.

The neocons were off and running. Against no specific national enemy, without a global rival, America would arm to the teeth to deal with a non-state actor, Osama bin Laden, whose forces numbered at most a few thousand. 9-11 not only was a unique American tragedy, it has proved to be an enduring attack on the American system because of the distortions in behavior, law, domestic and foreign policy that have been adopted by the Bush administration in its name.