Rananim - Apologies for misunderstanding you. I still disagree with you.
Please correct me if I'm misinterpreting you this time. You seem to be saying that because there was a huge loss of life on 11/09/01 (greater than any other singular terrorist attack to memory), that America knows more about the concequences of terrorism. This seems pretty bizarre to me as England and Northern Ireland have been dealing with it's threat and incidents for over 30 years! Israel too has had similar experience, if not more so. You also discount the Basque sepratist movement in northern Spain and terrorist attacks have also been happening in the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan for years. This is by no means a comprihensive list.
I'll agree with you if you say that the US has had the biggest shock from a single terrorist event but then it shocked the world. Your reaction is understandable. I can't imagine how I'd feel if it happened here. Never the less, I still believe that guns in the cockpit represent a reduction rather than and increase in the level of safety. But you get to choose over there - just not over here.