I don’t disagree, but I do think we need to be somewhat guarded until we actually know what took place here, not that you implied otherwise.
Look, I think we were lucky under Bush/Cheney. If this is an attack by a terrorist, nothing really changed to make it more possible after Bush/Cheney stepped down.
I’ll grant you the thought that the punishment might be more “gamed” at this point is a valid point for discussion though.
Eternal vigilance is needed because they only need to be right to score a victory. We have to be right every time.
And while "nothing changed" we did have a President step forward to denounce American policies that spur jihadists into action (admitting US guilt and feeding the propaganda) and arrogance that "I'm somehow better and the world now loves us".