On the second thought maybe this Arab meant the coup as the government seizure of special powers in the name of fighting terrorism?
No, I don't think so. It's possible, but from what I remember of the thoughts and feelings after the attack (both what I heard on the news and what I heard from my friends), I don't think the Arabs would have looked at things that way because no one really minded losing any freedoms or rights immediately after the attacks. Everyone was so scared and angry that the general consensus seemed to be, "Whatever keeps this from happening again."
I think it's more likely that our (the media's) vocal concern about the location of government leaders might have been construed by those who don't understand how America works as fear of a coup. The Middle East is full of dictators whose government collapses as soon as they do. It would make sense if Arabs looked at the Pres. in that light and saw the repeated concerns in the media concerning Bush's safety as fears that the American government itself would topple.
Luckily, we have a constitution that is more powerful than one man's death.