My take away from this thread (well, I had it before this thread) is that the War on Terror deeply psychologically damaged an entire generation of people, and technological/societal change accentuated the damage.
The Fear of Islamic Radicalism has so colonized these people's most fundamental thought processes, it's formed the foundation of an old-is-new-again Nativist and White Supremacist political philosophy.
Somewhere in hell, Osama bin Laden is toasting to his strategic victory. He may have lost Afghanistan and lost his life, but he triumphed over millions upon millions of Western young men who, through his action, he has brought about an equal and opposite reaction of the worst order. They revived the very worst part of the Western way.