Certainly, the hard power of military and police force was necessary to counter al-Qaeda, but the indiscriminate use of hard power – illustrated by the invasion of Iraq, the Abu Ghraib prison photos, and detentions without trial – served to increase the number of terrorist recruits.
V reakci na teroristické útoky al-Káidy na USA viceprezident Dick Cheney prohlásil, že rázný vojenský zásah další útoky odstraší.