It has already been six years ever since a few thousand Americans died in America because of some Muslim attackers who violated American lives and territory in order to express their dissatisfaction about how they were treated.

Six years pass so quickly it is almost like yesterday when we saw the incredible pictures from New York, that have ever since failed to appear again and to attract so much of the world's attention.

What did Bin Laden achieve from the 9/11 attacks? Did anything change in the world we know today? It is almost like if nothing has changed because of the attacks. Let's just think a little bit and see whether the 9/11 attacks affected the lives of the normal citizens of the Western world in any way! If you ask me the world has changed enormously ever since 11/09/2001 (or as the Americans write 9/11/2001) but not because of the attacks of a few Muslim extremists.

The world has only witnessed seemingly extraordinary events on TV, some local wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a lot of talk, lots and lots of talk. Not that all these events are extremely insignificant to our lives but from a global perspective they are indeed insignificant beyond the realms of news and media. The events of 9/11 and post-9/11 (Afghanistan and Iraq) have not changed how people live their lives in the West or almost anywhere else except for those who have been directly affected, and they are a very very tiny proportion of the world's population.

However the world has changed dramatically ever since the 9/11 attacks because of some changes completely irrelevant to the causes or consequences of the attackers or the Western reactions to the attackers. The world has changed over the past 6 years in a very good way, technologically, materially and in many other ways, and some of changes have not been that great. The 9/11 attacks and its consequences have been nothing but news in fact. It has not been like World War II when people's lives were affected and the whole world suffered and changed becasue of the war.

Ever since 9/11 the Internet has spread all over the world and people can enjoy the fruits of an amazing technology that prior to 9/11 was much less affordable and much less practical. Ever since 9/11 names such as Google, Wikipedia, Youtube and others have captivated the minds of hundreds of millions of people who prior to 9/11 had little possibility of learning so much so fast and to communicate with the whole world just with a few clicks, for no cost. Ever since 9/11 most goods and services have become much cheaper thanks to the better integration of Chinese and other less developed economies. Ever since 9/11 the world economy has improved significantly and hundred of millions have been lifted from poverty. Unemployment has fallen in both the developed and the developing world. The list of the good things that have affected people all around the world can go on.

Some negative things have also happened that have had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Global warming has been the worst thing, which has intensified.

All the above have affected our lives, whether American, British or Iranian. All the above have happened, good or bad, neither because of Bin Laden or George Bush. However they have happened because of peace and security. Peace and security provide the means for ordinary citizens to take care of their own lives as they see best fit. However the magnitude of Islamic extremism has often been exaggerated and the reactions have often caused much more damage than Muslim extremism could ever cause. This does not mean Muslim extremism is no problem at all to the world's peace and security and can be ignored. The best way to combat Muslim extremism, like all sorts of other extremist movements, is to remove the causes that provide fertile ground for some to exploit the emotions of people for their own purposes.