That is the one good thing that came from 9/11--they woke us up, and they were too stupid to wait until they were strong enough to win before starting the war. Just think, if they had waited 2 years or so, they might have gotten a nuke into NY and DC, and killed off 1 million people including the President. They could claim they had 10 more waiting to be used, and tell us to get out of the Middle East, and we would have been in a helluva situation.
Instead, they made us realize what the danger is, and we can get rid of all the rogues before they can do anything nation-threatening, ushering in, as you said, a pax americana.
What maroons!