Representation of Arabs Before 9/11

Movies and TV shows that represent 9/11 inevitably need to represent the 'evil doers' (a surprisingly useful Bushism). A show like Battlestar Galactica has the freedom that sci-fi gives to change the terrorist characters to Cylons (effectively robotic humanoids). A show like 24 that is (supposedly) realistic finds itself needing to portray Arab terrorists as Arabs. However, it is questionable whether this is a new phenomenon and Arab terrorists on screen is directly related to 9/11.
There were many movies before 9/11 that featured Arab terrorists, so it can be seen that perhaps that this depiction of Arab terrorists stems from earlier political changes (without going overly political, the numerous airline hijackings during the 1970's is likely the genesis of this). A movie like 'True Lies' predates 9/11 by almost a decade but features Arabic terrorists every bit as sinister as those in 24.

Curiously 24 has persisted in using the old Cold War enemies, the Russians, as the 'bad guys' in multiple series. This perhaps suggests that as a program 24 is quite indiscriminate in its enemies (it is certainly indiscriminate in regards to Arabs, whom they treat as all emanating from one country somewhere in the Mid-East). It may not be that the creators of 24 are directly channeling 9/11 in the show to the extent that is generally assumed.
It is plausible that they just need 'bad guys' and are reflecting society insecurities and fears. It could not really be argued that Russia is truly the bad guy in a political sense anymore and the depictions of Russian government officials attempting to detonate nuclear bombs in the U.S. or assassinate the President are most not a reflection of current political tensions. Yet in American society Russia still has connotations of an 'evil empire' (as Ronald Reagan said), therefore the creators of 24 are able portray Russians in the same way it represents Arabs; for in the American psyche they both exemplify of entities fighting against the American way of life.
Therefore, it is possible that 24 could be said to have at least some elements that are entirely non-post 9/11 elements within it, a rather confusing statement since 24 is truly the ultimate show of post-9/11 ideas.