More than eight years ago, on Dec. 29, 1992, Osama bin Laden made his first attack against the U.S. when he directed the bombing of a hotel in Aden, Yemen, where some U.S. troops had been staying, according to pbs.org.

Mary Jo White, former U.S. Attorney and assistant director of the FBI, later said, “Osama bin Laden and his military commander Muhammad Atef are charged with plotting and carrying out the most heinous acts of international terrorism and murder.”

President George W. Bush said 150 people believed to be associated with bin Laden also have been arrested.

The number of dead on Sept. 11 still is changing, with reports of 4,986 people still missing and 380 dead at the World Trade Center Towers, 189 dead at the Pentagon and 45 dead in Pennsylvania.

In a classified briefing Thursday, one official reported a “100 percent chance” of other terrorist activities if bin Laden is not handed over to the U.S and if Afghanistan is attacked. The briefing was attended by the FBI, CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

One NIU student, though not in any immediate danger, is not afraid of the possibility of another attack.

“I’m not scared because I don’t think anything is going to happen,” said Michelle Simpson, an undecided liberal arts and sciences major.

The word terror takes on a new meaning as authorities attempt to convey this message to the public while continuing with daily life.

“This mass terrorism is the new evil in our world today,” British Prime Minister Tony Blair said. “It is perpetrated by fanatics who are utterly indifferent to the sanctity of human life, and we democracies of this world are going to have to come together and fight it together.”

Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Senator Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Post it is likely there will be another attack.

“You can just bet on it,” he said. “That’s just something you have to believe will happen.”