I remember it being said that the Afghans had the time while the Americans had the watches, EEE. They surely understood the long game, and we, often view time in shorter increments like quarters, years, or at the most, four-year presidential terms. They knew they could just wait us out. 

As to Osama's ability to foresee America's present day polarization, nah. In the immediate aftermath of 9-11, America had a rare moment of unification, with Bush initially having broad support and really high approval numbers. Still, the seemingly endless deployments for our troops probably added juice to the populist juggernaut which Trump tapped into and supercharged. But the 2008 financial crisis, along with decades of little real wage growth for those on the bottom rung of the economic ladder while the well heeled did very well indeed, added to the rage. The internet and social media put populism on steroids. At least that's kind of how I see it.

Peter T.