You can summarize that with one famous quote:
"LETS ROLL!"
Today, the American citizens will fight back, even if it will cost them their own lives.
That's because we now understand the consequences of a failure to act. Prior to 9/11, the main consequence of a hijacking is that a bunch of folks got to waste a day in Cuba, or some other communist hell-hole. The arabs have upped the ante.
The government knows this perfectly well, but they sieze the opportunity to tighten the screws any time they get. The sheeple blissfully nod their heads and bleat their approval, because the fight was beaten out of them years ago.