Mrebo said:

I don't agree that bin Laden and Hitler are more inspirational now, however.

if anything, Bin Laden was more of an inspiration while he was alive. Evil people everywhere could at him and believe that since he did it, they too could attack the US and live to tell the tale. Now they know we will pursue people that attack the US, not matter how long it takes. One the reasons 911 happened, was because of our weak response to the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the Cole attack, and the embassy bombings. Call our response to 911 what you will, but it certainly wasn't weak.