Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
Two of Europe's most powerful kings, Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, led the Second Crusade. As the crusade crossed Anatolia, many crusaders were lost by the deadly raids of the Seljuk Turks. Because of the losses, the two kings decided not to attack Edessa but Damascus instead. "The Second Crusade was entirely counterproductive, its only notable consequence being to strengthen the drive to restore Muslim unity and destroy the crusader kingdoms." [Furtado: 1001 Days] "The Second Crusade was in retaliation for the fall of Edessa, one of the first Crusader States founded in the First Crusade. It was an overall failure. This was the first Crusade to have been led by European kings." [Wikipedia: Timeline of Middle Ages]