WI: Unsuccessful/No 9/11?

Exactly what it says on the tin. Suppose the 9/11 attacks don't happen, for whatever reason; what, then, happens?

The Bush Administration may regard the attack on the USS Cole as an excuse for declaration of war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, but the fighting will be much more limited that OTL.
 

Bearcat

Banned
The Bush Administration may regard the attack on the USS Cole as an excuse for declaration of war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, but the fighting will be much more limited that OTL.

Cole happened during the Clinton Administration (2nd term). There was a little noise, then nothing.

Unless OBL slaps George in the face, he isn't going to pay much attention. Bush is fixated on Iraq and Saddam. Until 9-11, OBL is seen as an annoying pissant, nothing more.

Hell, if it gets rid of the overbearing, yet useless, Patriot Act, I'd be satisfied.

The bugaboo is China. What happens with the simmering animosity there after the EP-3 shootdown? IOTL, 9-11 fixed the eye of the Bush Administration elsewhere. There's a chance, hopefully slim, that things get worse in that arena if 9-11 doesn't happen.
 
Well without 9/11 there'd probably be little to no major interference in the Middle East. The Taliban and Saddam would still be in power of their respective countries. Thus the Middle East would still be saber-rattling, and we'd still believe that Iraq had WMDs.

Despite his apparent "fixation" on Iraq, I doubt Bush would make any huge attempts to do anything outside the usual stuff Clinton kept trying to do during the 90's and have weapons inspectors try to find the supposed WMDs. Worst case scenario, he pulls a page from his predacessors playbook and lobs a couple missiles at suspected areas where Saddam was making those chemicals and other weapons.

The economy would be shaky, but alot of the problems that lead to our current situation weren't exactly helped by 9/11 and the subsequent efforts in the Middle East. So I'm sure that, without a 9/11, the then shaky economy would probably be fixed eventually. I mean what the hell else would they (politicians) do in this ATL? Just sit around with their thumbs up their butts??

But what's got me interested is what would happen to the Democrats and the 2004 election. I wouldn't write Bush off for the '04, I mean in the OTL he managed to win (in a landslide no less) with a then increasingly unpopular war on the table. Who would the Democrats choose to run against him?? Alot of their actions in 2004 seemed to be influenced by a post-9/11 world. Would they even go with someone like John Kerry or Howard Dean in this ATL or would they try to get Al Gore to come back??? or maybe Hillary Clinton??? And what would they use against Bush besides the hotly debated 2000 Election?? Maybe Illegal Immigration, Energy Alternatives, and whether or not the Tax Cuts would/will work. *shrugs*

And what about AFTER the 2004 election?? Would Obama even win (much less run) without a Bush Administration presiding over a huge recession??
 
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