There are numerous networks in the world that have political agendas. People like to see governments and overt political groups as the authors of big historical events, but often it is the small networks that arrange things behind the scenes. This page lists several influential networks along with the motives that would lead them to promote various aspects of the War on Terror.

Network theory vs Conspiracy theory

A conspiracy theory supposes that an event was arranged behind the scenes, and focuses on the physical evidence as proof. A network theory focuses on a group of individuals who would be motivated to arrange an event and then looks for indications of involvement.

The common suspicions about the 9/11 attack are mainly conspiracy theories. The vast majority of "evidence" presented involves questionable forensic type studies of debris and other physical evidence. Some 9/11 theorists reference networks (usually a vague band of Israelis) but there is not any in depth study of the motives various networks might have.

There are many nations and groups that have benefited from the War on Terror.

-Countries-

Russia

For decades, up until the breakup of the Soviet Union, most people saw the world as a battleground between "communism" and "capitalism". Communism was considered by most people to be a system where the government had a strong hand in every aspect of the economy while capitalism was thought of as a free market in most respects, with government intervention where necessary.

Many people now understand that the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States had less to do with economic systems and more to do with common political competition. America was a new land with a history of freedoms and education. The Soviet Union went through a violent revolution in the early 20th century and struggled to modernize.

When the Soviet Union broke up what happened to all it's ideologues? Did they suddenly say "Oh wonderful, we have been brought to our knees by our archenemy. Let us cooperate in every way with their ambitions."? Russia does have a significant concern with radical Islam, but their concern, and their responses, are driven by their experiences.

Israel

Israel has long tried to convince other countries of the dangers of Muslim countries. For much of it's existence, Israel was a country of educated mostly Europeans in the midst of "primitive" countries. The fact that Israelis (i.e., Zionists) displaced a number of local Muslims in order to get land for their country did not go over well locally. To make matters worse, there are huge discrepancies between the Muslim version of the history of the region and the Israeli version.

The bottom line is that the Israelis now have a nice chunk of land with millions of Muslims crowded into Gaza and the West Bank. Israel cannot easily let all those Muslims become Israeli citizens, since Jews would then soon be a minority, but it can't expel them anywhere either. Millions of displaced occupants of the land of Israel are already living in refugee camps in Jordan and other local countries. The War on Terror has finally given Israel the context in which to develop strategic alliances that it can "trust".

Pakistan & Saudi Arabia

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are the powerhouses of the Islamic world. They are both Muslim countries with widespread popular support of conservative Islam. They are also both fairly authoritarian countries.

In that part of Asia there is considerable resentment towards the United States, even among our Allies. During the Cold War people who opposed the United States invariably found support from the Soviet Union. Nowadays support is more likely to come from a conservative religious ideology.