Insurgents and Islamists learned that a mix of silence, multiple claims to be the attacker, new names for attacking organizations, and uncertain levels of affiliation both make it harder for the US to respond. They also produced more media coverage and speculation.
As of yet, the number of true false flag operations has been limited. However, in Iraq and elsewhere, attacks have often accompanied [sic] by what seem to be deliberate efforts to advance conspiracy theories to confuse the identity of the attacker or to find ways to blame defenders of the US for being attacked. In addition, conspiracy theories changing the US with deliberately or carelessly failing to provide an adequate defense has proved particularly effective.