There are literally thousands of fiction books with terror plots as the central theme. Should we fault every author? Is Tom Clancy a traitor? Hardly. Did you ever read Keating's- The Final Jihad? Plenty of very workable terror scenarios there (even though the story line is ridiculous, the terror incidents weren't).
Terrorists so far have shown a penchant for as much fear as possible on the cheap. We just have to hope that our law enforcement is also thinking up scenarios and planning protection. In Israel, if a person sees an unattended package he calls the police who bring the bomb squad. Are we ready for that here? My son, when he was studying there, saw an unattended backpack on the sidewalk along the busiest street in Jerusalem. Despite causing a massive traffic jam, the cops didn't hesitate a minute blocking the street and all access roads, and bringing in the bomb squad. Fortunately, Israel has the system down pat, with many people trained in bomb removal with ample equipment, and can handle the situation quickly. We will have to get used to that too.
To the original point, while I hate the terrorist scumbags, I recognize that they are clever enough to conjure up every type of drama from hell with or without help from our media.
This is only the latest instance which I've wondered whose side the NY Times are on.