In the world of computer network security, there is what's known as a "proof of concept" attack.
The purpose is for a hacker to show off to the rest of the hacking community that some heretofor task believed to be impossible could actually be accomplished.
TWA 800 seems to parallel that kind of attack, only with much bigger stakes involving a group much more dangerous than a loose association of pimple faced kids, the international terrorist community.
Who would have ever believed you could take down a large American commercial airliner, on American soil, with a shoulder launched missle... until the concept was proven?
This raises the question, though, of why it hasn't been repeated? The effort was successful, though the perps received no credit, at least in the US media (did the foreign press ever give credit on this?). If the hunt-down of the perps had been successful, Bubba would have been bragging about it. If the hunt-down was not successful, as some on this thread have mentioned, then why did the perps not do it again? Was it just to show it could be done?