[island911]

Nate,
It's true, the terrorist are not being taken seriously, but only for those issues they would like to be taken seriously for. (such as the influx western culture in this age of open communication).

As you rightfully point out "Most of the Middle East lives in extreme poverty" . . though considering how much oil they are sitting on, why is that our fault? Well, we are the ones that have a more balanced society; and in the age of communication, our model is a threat to the region. . . .even perhaps the Saudi royal family, for instance.

The terrorist are, however being take seriously for their threat level. As they should be!

10 years ago I got my Mechanical engineering degree. (the same degree the 9/11 "master mind" has.) Even then I was concerned about how quickly the US was exporting what could be "sensitive technology."
I remember the average Physic, chem, cmpt sci, and Mech degreed people each had the knowlege to do some very serious damage, if so inclined. I also remeber how the US would give foreigners full rides, and these students had the full intention of returning to their home countries with there new found knowledge, asap.

So while the "knowledge genie" may be out of the bottle, we can't wait for more evil application of said knowledge (read: WTC) we have got to go after those with bad intent. (no doubt, that can get tricky)