You're missing the point. The idea was to try and diffuse the panic a little. Hey, we all get spooked, but it sometimes helps to unwind a bit and take your mind off the fixation. We all hope no-one got hurt, of course, but don't let the terrorists get you down, man.
I was the Provost Marshal Operations Officer In Yongsan, Korea during the African Embassy bombings in '98. Of course we (justifiably) went to a heightened state of alert, but it still amazed me how many counter-terrorism experts leapt out of the woodwork...and how many ridiculous "suspicious package," calls we received at the MP station. We dispatched a MWD team to the garrison HQ where a staff SGM had reported a "suspicious package," outside his office door. As this was at a relatively high profile site, I met the team there.
Upon arrival, we observed the "package," to be a tennis ball with the word, "F*CK," written on it with a permanent marker. Of course, we went through the drill, and the dog handler and his Malinois approached the ball. The dog sniffed it, paused, then picked it up in his mouth and turned around with a look that said, "Let's play, Dad!" Priceless. Wish I could have caught it on video. But it also demonstrates how people can abandon common sense and give in to hysteria so easily. When they do, it over-taxes limited resources that are critical in the event of real emergencies...