That's very true, but even marginally informed Americans were aware that radical muslims were targeting us, before 9/11. Every major attack made the news. These were incidents of huge impact, and nearly every one of them dominated the news cycles of the time.
The real problem, is that the US federal government didn't take radical Islam seriously, until after 9/11.
The Clinton administration virtually ignored international (and domestic) terrorism during their eight years at the helm. Osama bin Laden was even offered to us on a silver platter at the time, and Clinton dithered and let him escape. Our people even had bin Laden in their crosshairs a few times, and Clinton WOULD NOT give the order to shoot.
Their lax response to terrorism emboldened bin Laden and Al Qaeda, which led directly to 9/11.
Ask a member of the MSM which is the larger threat - islamist or right wingers... you might be surprised.