Terrorist attack a transformational act?

I was reminded of Ron Silver's death last week and thought of a tribute of another blogger. This said by R. G. Combs.

But after the 9/11 attacks, Silver had the courage and wisdom to rethink his own long-held beliefs, and — despite the hostility of the Hollywood community to which he belonged — he clearly, articulately, and passionately defended his new view of the world time and time again. For that, I greatly admired him. And I'm very sorry that he's gone.

I am thinking why would the attacks of September 11, 2001 push someone to change their political beliefs. There was no label when Al Qaeda claimed the attacks. In all of their messages, I have clearly understood their purpose is to kill Americans. A message also more religious than political. I didn't think infidel meant Democrat or Republican. Osama bin Laden's views of America had been shaped by both Democratic and Republican administrations and policies. Since the Republicans were in charge of the government, who else was going to lead the response, but George W. Bush. His leadership in this could not be compared; for no other president had had the same circumstances. If one admired Bush's response, it could only be to his response as a man, not of his party.

There were a few liberal voices, blaming terrorism on America's policies, but the majority of Democrats gave Bush everything he asked for, until his re-election and much afterward. The world view of the Republican party could not have changed the event, because it was under their administration with their world view that escalated their assistance and armed Osama bin Laden in his fight against the Soviets. Their only concern was to fight the Evil Empire, not the democratization of Afghanistan. If one thought of the Republicans as the only ones with neo-con sensibilities, there were Democrats that were complicit in arming the rebels and osculating the Afghan war with the soviets.

I have given my reasons why I think that one would not have had reason to change their political beliefs, so I can only assume that emotions cause by the attacks on September 11, were so strong that fear became their guiding force. I am one that also believes that neither war in Afghanistan nor Iraq has made us any safer; considering how few people it took to bomb the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19,1995 and those people did it for totally different reasons than Al Qaeda.

If beliefs have been held and molded most of ones life, terrorism becomes a transformational act when your intellect has been disturbed, such that your ideas change suddenly; I would say that the terrorist have achieved their purpose.