Good point. More than eight and one half years passed between WTC bombings. A terrorist's culture/environment is not one of impatience and anxiety and instant gratification. bin Laden does not live for today.
They were NOT idle during that time: embassy bombings, USS Cole, plane bombings, etc.
Bin Laden does not live at all.
If they had working bombs they would have used them. Having their own state with a passport office, state airline, and the rest was a huge asset to Al Qaeda that took years to establish. To think they would sit back and let us destroy the Taliban and lose that without any response for nearly a year if they had the abilty to strike back simply defies credibilty. Certainly if they could have nuked a US city they would have. IMHO we have crippled AQ to the poing that they cannot attack now. No doubt they are trying to re-establish that capibility, but with thousands of suspected Al Qaeda arrested worldwide and many of their top people killed, it won't be easy for them.
OTOH, if such a device(s) are on American soil, every day that passes gives us more time to sniff them out. I would think they would keep them somewhere very secure, probably overseas.
Uh, I think that should have read, Bin Laden does not live, today. Osama bin laden to rest.