As we mark another anniversary of the attacks in 2001, it seems as if little has changed. We appear to be caught in a time loop where history keeps repeating itself again and again. If it was al Qaeda in 2001 that represented the pinnacle of all things evil that animated the US invasion of Afghanistan and later Iraq, today its al Qaeda’s evil twin Islamic State that is prompting air strikes in Iraq and upcoming airstrikes on Syria as well. Once again the moral outrage over the killing of innocent Americans, this time two journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, serves to enable the US government to both carry out interventions in the Middle East and justify its domestic counter-terrorism policies.