I remember as a child thinking at the time how insignificant it was.
'The adults will never tolerate this,' I thought, and at school we laughed at the terrorists' ignorance, superstition, and cowardice, their dirty and hysterical demeanour.
I did not realise that this phoney war (Link)would last so long.
It is fashionable to say "terrorism can not be defeated" (for X, Y, Z, reasons). Actually it can be defeated - but there is no WILL in the ruling circles of the West to defeat terrorism.
Not just in the Obama Administration ("curses be upon" Barack Obama and all those associated with him), but in other Western governments also.