Terrorism was initially a minor item on the neocon threat list, not the focus.

Evidence

What is noteworthy about the document, though, is that the enemies it named were diverse and the list of national interests was broad; these included “access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil; proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, threats to US citizens from terrorism or regional or local conflict, and threats to US society from narcotics trafficking.” Thus, “terrorism” was named as one among several threats faced by the United States. In fact, Krauthammer’s article didn’t even mention terrorism, an omission for which he would later atone in an article where he stated that the “new threat [Islamism] is as evil as the old Evil Empire.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 385

Categorization

• XREF: Fits the reader’s project of dismantling the myth that post-9/11 Islamophobia was a natural response; matches the idea of manufactured threats feeding the imperial project.
• SEED: Essay angle: tracing how terrorism went from one item among many on the neocon threat list to the singular existential enemy after 9/11.