Before 9-11, much public discourse focused on the evils of federal government, how they were wasting precious taxpayer dollars on useless pork barrell projects. A significant minority argued that federal government should be abolished, that the whole notion of a nation-state is an anachronism, that free markets will take care of everything, so we don’t need representative democracy at all. It’s the same crowd of hypocrites that showed up at candlelight vigils waving American flags.

The FBI at the time was criticized for not spending enough resources to fight crime on the streets, that instead they were investigating useless “counter-intelligence” threats, relics of a bygone Cold War era. Politicians competed to say bad things about the CIA/FBI intelligence apparatus, that the CIA should be abolished. People argued that Osama was just a “straw man”, an imaginary foe invented by Washington because “America needs an enemy”.

For similar reasons, it is often very difficult for government agencies to obtain up-to-date computer systems. Budgets are subject to many months of acrimonious debate, by which time software has been upgraded several versions. But since the original budget called for a particular version, the agency may be required by law to purchase the outdated software/hardware anyway. If the agency deviates from this, then hearings will take place on Capitol Hill about “$400 toasters”, etc., and the masses are whipped up into a frenzy of anger over “government waste”.