From 1996 until today, bin Laden, al-Qaeda, their allies, and those they inspire have stood by this short list of motivations. A researcher would look long, hard, and ultimately futilely for any motivations that pivot off of such cultural issues as U.S. democracy, elections, civil liberties, gender equality, etc. To be sure, bin Laden made clear that Islamists were not at all interested in any of these cultural attributes for the Muslim world. But his prose likewise made clear that he knew almost no Muslims could be motivated to risk their lives and wage jihad because there is an early presidential primary in Iowa and women are welcomed into the U.S. workplace.
No U.S. political leader or mainstream media outlet has, since 1996, given any indication that bin Laden’s declaration has been read and and understood. Instead, both have preached to Americans that they are being attacked by Islamists because of the way we live and think here in North America. Americans also have been assured that the impact of Washington’s interventionist policies in the Islamic world plays no role in our attackers’ motivation. This, of course is bald lie, but our political and media leaders have stood by it for 14 years and counting.