Bernard Lewis

This recognized world authority on Islam reminded us in yesterday WSJ that Islamists have always believed the U.S. to be weak. Some quotes: "We in the Western world see the defeat and collaspe of the Soviet Union as a Western, more specically an American, victory in the Cold War. For Osama bin Laden and his followers it was a Muslim victory in a jihad."
From his writings and speeches it is clear that "Stage One of the jihad was to drive the infidels from the lands of Islam; Stage Two - to bring the war into the enemy camp, and the attacks of 9/11 were clearly intended to be the opening salvo of this stage. The response to 9/11, so completely out of accord with previous American practice, came as a shock, and it is noteworthy that there has been no successful attack on American soil since then."
"More recently developments, and notably the public discourse inside the U.S., are persuading increasing numbers of Islamist radicals that their first assessment was correct after all, and that they need only to press a little harder to achieve final victory."