Why would terrorists wait to follow American troops home?

Question

I was wondering about the argument where terrorists will follow Americans back home if they withdraw their troops from the Middle East.

If they'll be able to enter the and attack the United States if they withdraw, what's stopping them from attacking now?

The only benefit I see in attacking only after the U.S. withdraws its troops from the Middle East would be to widen the gap between the Democrats and Republicans by letting the latter say, "I told you so," further widening the gap between the Republican and Democratic parties. Otherwise, what's keeping them from attacking right now? How does the fact that our troops are there keep them from making attacks on U.S. soil now?

Answer 1

Its easier for the terrorist to attack Americans overseas that it is for them to attack them here in the USA. A few people have explained this already.

If they can't attack Americans overseas then they will try harder to attack them here at home, but since its so much easier to attack them over there they don't even bother to attack us here. Besides the left wing liberals are the ones doing the terrorists job for them over here in the US.

Answer 2

because how else would the administration scare the American people to want to stay in Iraq. I think you make a great point. If they were going to attack why not do it now... it would be devastating especially with the state of our current economy... I would say the answer is nothing. and if being attacked at home is the biggest fear... I say we withdraw and work on our immigration administration... go to war on bureaucratic backlog that lets people come into the U.S. and stay here for much longer than their VISA allows and not at all do what they said they came here to do, put some money towards that. And not that I'm saying that this war is about oil, but I'm saying as long as their is oil in the middle east we will be there. Even Bush's plan for hydrofuel is going to need Oil to power it...

Answer 3

The terrorists are fighting on many fronts in this battle. We are hitting them hard in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that pummeling is on TV for the world to see. With the world seeing the enemy being defeated demoralizes them and slows their recruitment. We are also hitting them under the radar, which is part of the reason we have not had an attack on US soil since 9/11. Now, if we were to surrender and return home the enemy would declare victory, they would say they defeated the "great Satan" and scared them back home. The terrorists would then have full control of all of Iraq and Afghanistan's natural resources. The enemy doesn't care about American politics, what they want is to kill us or convert us. It is this petty bickering between the political parties that will lead to more American deaths.

Answer 4

You may not realize it, but sleeper cells already lie in wait for the next attack. They are here and ready to stomp. I would hope the CIA has a better handle on it today, then it did in the days leading up to 9/11.

The belief is that those insurgents we fight in Iraq and Afghanistan will fight us on foreign turf, as long as our troops are there, but if we withdraw, then they too will concentrate their efforts on our own home turf.

This is a very patient enemy with whom we are engaged in battle. Look how many years went by between the first attack and the second attack on the WTC, I believe it was eight years. In that eight years, we had already let down our guard. The air Marshall's had been withdrawn from commercial airlines, the president at the time, refused to engage this enemy, even though they had attacked our interests on six different occasions, we were sound asleep behind the wheel. That is when he will attack again, when we foolishly let down our guard.

Answer 5

Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing. One of the biggest reasons why I think they've avoided attacking us back at home now is because they want us out of the middle east. They know the American public will start supporting the war again if there is another 9/11. They'd rather attack our troops in Iraq to make us want to leave. But then once they have us out why attack us again? To continue their Jihad against the world maybe...who knows. Hard to get into the mind of some the those people their views are so twisted by religous fanatic propaganda.

Answer 6

I think the philosophy behind Iraq and Afghanistan is to fight the terrorists on their own turf. The idea is that there are people out there dedicated to killing Americans, so we can either go to them with trained and willing members of our armed forces to meet them, or wait for them to attack unsuspecting civilians at home or abroad. Our current tactic also had the benefit of tearing down governments that posed some threat to the US and replacing them with democratic and more pro-American ones. Afghanistan under the Taliban was a breeding ground for anti-American Islamic extremists while Iraq under Hussein did pose (at least we thought) some threat to us and our allies. Now, with forces deployed overseas anyone that desires to kill Americans (or westerners) only has to cross a border or two to reach them, and the ones they will encounter are able to defend themselves and eliminate them once they find them. Of course, you'll always have your random insurgents and little pockets of resistance, but my understanding is any powerful and organized terrorist organization like Al-Qaeda have been effectively destroyed, at least to the point where they're unable to plan and commit another major attack.

It's up to you to decide if this makes any sense, but at least there haven't been any attacks the US since 9/11.

Answer 7

Tell me do you go to the local grocery store? Or do you drive 100 to another town to shop? People are lazy they go with the easiest way of doing things. Duh? Why don't people think things through?

1 American troops are in middle east!
2 American troops are within driving distance of Mecca and Medina!
3 Terrorists in the middle east dress like the locals.
4 Terrorists in the middle east speak the language like a native(they are natives).
5 Terrorists do not speak English without an obvious accent.
6 Terrorists can not dress and act like native Americans,
7 Americans are alert and reporting suspicious activity and in the mid-west they are shooting fools who act like they are going to try to kill people.
8 What part of a lot more difficult to disappear don't you understand?

Answer 8

That's a good question. My main concern right now is getting the troops out of the Middle East. But in my opinion I have no idea why the terrorists would wait now. People are pretty much hating the government for the issue with the troops and we are a little weakened right now by the whole experience. I'm not saying that they should attack, but what would be keeping them? I'll have to look into it more.

Answer 9

What keeps them from attacking now? Heightened security, disruption in terrorist communications, a war on their home turf, etc.

If we left they could easily restore communications, restart their terrorist training camps, and regroup into a stronger fighting force. If that doesn’t make sense to you, then you’re asking the question to push an agenda instead of actually wanting to know the truth. Our forces disrupt their plans, take down their cells, and keep them busy while slowly eliminating them. Period.

Answer 10

Number of troops at their disposal. Most of these guys have been brainwashed that Americans are evil. Well now we are right next door. They feel attacked and they are on the defensive. They can not afford to pull another major attack because of their stance in Iraq. If they attempt it, they might weaken their defenses in Iraq....loosing home turf.