I think Penn & Teller said it best on Bullshit. People act like they are safe because deep down they know they are safe. 9/11 sucked but that was a 1 time thing.
You mean the way people feel safe when they're in their car on their commute? That does not make sense. The truth is people are not naturally good at assessing risks. (The relative lack of fear when driving is a great example.)
Anyway, I hear sense a lot of straw man reasoning in this thread. Nobody is suggesting that the populace should live in utter fear and panic. I think the OP was surprised it wasn't bigger news. But it appears that it simply takes time (less than 24 hours) for it to get up there on cnn's newspulse.
PS I love the idea that 9/11 was a one time thing we never have to think about. Reminds me of people who thought WW1 was the war to end all wars. Comon', there is no reason to think we won't see another major terrorist event.