Was traveling to the US that fraught before 9/11? I think people forget just how much 9/11 damaged the national psyche which to me honestly explains things like Trump.
Pre 9/11 we could cross with nothing more than a driver's license, making trips with no reason other than to goof off. I even did the same to Mexico. Passports were for overseas or countries that required visas.
Does it mean that Al Qaeda won?
That was my first thought. The goal was fear. Here it is.