Remember, it wasn't that long ago that our authorities were being skewered for letting suspicious behavior prior to 9/11 go unimpeded. This writer puts it well:

What happened to all the questions about why the dots weren't connected before September 11th? This is what it looks like when you "connect dots." Dots are by definition fragments. Maybe a better analogy might be "filling in the blanks." By definition the picture is incomplete, unclear -- and you are forced to provide details of your own that are missing in order to create a whole picture. Your choice is to create a picture that makes it look as if the world is safe or to create a picture that makes it look as if the world is risky. Which do you choose when you're the guy in charge?

Was September 11th really that long ago?