Comment Re:Tail End Event (Score 1) 728
100 billion dollars of the cost had nothing to do with the response. That's a pretty devastating cost - more than ~1600 dollars per domestic passenger in 2001. Even if we spread that cost over 10 years, we are talking about 150 dollars added to every single plane ticket sold in the USA.
The fact is, 9/11 didn't devastate the airline industry because the Government stepped in and protected the airlines from lawsuits they surely would have lost. It seems reasonable for the US Government to do what it can to prevent further tail-end terrorist attacks. Sometimes, their actions are unreasonable, though.