[artplumber]

OBL's stated goals are to remove the infidels from the holy land ie Saudi Arabia. Secondary goals are to remove infidels from all muslim nations and isolate Israel. They have chosen methods to try and cause as much disruption to the "western" way of life as possible by striking at the symbols of our "corruption" (read capitalist lifestyle). This results in money spent protecting against them vs spending on more capitalist things like bigger houses (personal level) or more money to healthcare/military (government level).