I can't answer your first two questions, but the answer to the third is
NO, of course not. No one is ever really "safe."
Safety is not what we should look for in life. There are things worse than dying and there are some things worth giving your life for.
No, we haven't been safe since the clintoon-era. Could take years to overcome that deficit. Depends on your definition of "alive." Can a death-dealing zombie be considered as a true life-form? My pet-rock is more alive than bin laden, even while he was alive.