Did you take Al Qaeda / bin Laden seriously before 9/11?

[Uncle Joe]

58. Yes, "Wag the Dog" came out in 97 and the Republicans accused Clinton

of wagging the dog, when he either warned against the growing threat or attacked al Aqaeda.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wag_the_Dog

Wag the Dog is a 1997 black comedy film[2] produced and directed by Barry Levinson. The screenplay by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet was loosely adapted from Larry Beinhart's novel American Hero. The film stars Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, with Anne Heche, Denis Leary, and William H. Macy in supporting roles.

Just days before a presidential election, a Washington, D.C. spin doctor (De Niro) distracts the electorate from a sex scandal by hiring a Hollywood film producer (Hoffman) to construct a fake war with Albania.

The film was released one month before the outbreak of the Lewinsky scandal and the subsequent bombing of the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan by the Clinton Administration.[3]

(snip)

The Republicans and corporate media had nothing but Monica on their minds.