SHOULD AMERICANS FEAR TERRORISM? On the campaign to keep you afraid and submissive:

For the vast majority of Americans, the chances of dying in a terrorist attack are close to zero. There's a higher probability that you'll die by falling off a ladder than getting mixed up in some terrorist plot. So why is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security constantly telling every American to be afraid? That's a strategy that creates widespread fear without making America any safer. U.S. homeland security efforts should focus less on what is possible and more on what is probable.
"All Americans Should Fear Terrorism"

-That's ridiculous. The odds of dying in a terrorist attack are minuscule. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the odds are about 1 in 88,000. The odds of dying from falling off a ladder are 1 in 10,010. Even in 2001, automobile crashes killed 15 times more Americans than terrorism. Heart disease, cancer, and strokes are the leading causes of death in the United States--not terrorism.
People overestimate risks they can picture and ignore those they cannot. Government warnings and 24-hour news networks make certain dangers, from shark attacks to terrorism, seem more prevalent than they really are.

http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/ForeignPolicy/2005/07/01/902708?extID=10026