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

[reorg]

66. that you cannot be more specific is quite telling

I remember some talk, specifically one newspaper article reporting about a possible terrorist threat against the G8 summit in Genoa July 2001. So, people were aware that such threats were alleged, possible or existed. But such news was overshadowed in this particular case by the protests against the summit and the reaction by Italy's police - daily reports for weeks and months.

What does "taking seriously" mean in this context, anyway, for the average person? That you believed these relatively isolated, if spectacular attacks may continue? That this did result in changes of your routines and attitudes, or that you were just aware of such a threat?

Naturally, the authorities, the police and intelligence services had much more specific information and were able to take measures, and did. Hell, they even tapped the phone lines of the group around Mohammed Atta in Hamburg. Such measures were definitely NOT talked about publicly and the public was NOT aware of them going on.