"What caused the two Boston bombers to do it""

[georgephillip]

I think what we are talking about is abuse of power.

A handfull of muslims rise to power and distort the purpose of Islam to attack the freedoms and missuse of American Exceptionalism. Both entities are fundimentally theoretically good. OR at least they fit into the context in which they exist in the societies they inhabit.

Islam wasn't created to fight a war with America. It was created to stop the Arabs from fighting amongst themselves. It was primarily a "trade agreement" ensuring that Mecca and other "holy" places in the ME would be "safe zones" and the watering holes known as "oasis's" would be shared with all Arabs free from attacks by warring tribes from each other.

American Exceptionalism was the result from our victory in WWII as the protector of the world. That was the price of winning. The world has since then looked to us as the shining beacon of justice. We haven't taken on this role without permission. The cost of assuming the leadership of justice and freedom is that we must wield this "sword" justly and reluctantly. We have not done so. We have abused our "right" in the name of protecting oil interests and "imagined" military threats and alliances with bad leaders of some of the worst ME countries to our detriment.

FWIW, I think you've absolutely nailed it about abuse of power.
I tend to view politics through an economic lens.
Every government yet devised serves its richest citizens first and foremost.
Nothing generates private fortunes at public expense as spectacularly as war.
(Unless it's the private creation of money at interest).
Rich Arabs exploited the trade agreement you laid out to expand Muslim Empire from India to Spain.
Rich Americans used American Exceptionalism is a similar way to expand the US Empire from Cuba to Baghdad.
I don't see any solution that doesn't begin with building a wall of separation between the influence of private wealth and government. And I don't see any Republicans OR Democrats willing to start that fight.