Is that not why we [BIG GOVERNMENT] currently take from our resources and waltz into foreign lands, trying to make them just like us? "Everyone wants freedom." No. Some people want the freedom to be slaves. Others don't. Which of those options fits the USA in principle?
It is the masters of those slaves that we have reason to fear.
The problem was that if we allowed the situation in the Middle east to continue on, we would almost certainly have been attacked again in a major way. We were already at war with Iraq, we were in a ceasefire that Saddam was exploiting. If we allowed him to rearm, the world would of become much more dangerous for us and western civilization generally.
The strategy was to change the equation in the middle east. It appeared to be working, but is now in danger from the ineptitude or hostility of the Obama administration.
The world today, in terms of transport and danger, is much smaller and closer to home than North America was from 1776 to 1850.
Ignoring the threat, which seemed possible when we pulled back from Afghanistan and basically ignored them (except for some aid to the Taliban) is what brought 911 to us.