Is there just a chance that this issue was given lots of spin by the Government to make it look like they are competent in what is a key area for the electorate, law and order?
If 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror, including the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, would not have happened, do you think Bush would have been reelected?
As you said: people want to see the government
do something. Waging war is probably the best way of being seen doing something. Even if the war is waged for the wrong reasons, with no clear objective and no exit strategy.
And this was made worse by the fact that until recently the political climate in the US was such that you could not even criticize the US government and presidency for what happened with the WoT, Iraq and Afghanistan, or risk being dismissed as "unpatriottic", "not supporting the troops" etc. In other words you were not allowed to question the status quo, which was brought on by politicians. Of course not being able to question the status quo also meant that the political situation would never change. And that is exactly what a sitting presidency/congress/senate wants, because its means getting reelected.