re: Defensive?
I don't know. Clinton had seven years to deal with the Islamists, after the first World Trade Center bombing, the Cole, and all the rest. Obviously, he wasn't deterring anyone.
Or maybe you harbor the pleasant fantasy that if Gore had been elected, somehow 9/11 would never have happened. Sure, go for it. Also, there wouldn't have been a recession, we'd still be in surplus, the stock market would be at 15,000, everybody's schlong would have grown three inches, and Gore wouldn't be acting like a crack fiend.