<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">1. Should I be outraged that someone could use my card to travel, using a name other than mine, and not be required to prove something as creditable for the charge card before getting the actual boarding pass?</font>
Since you are allowed to buy tickets for other people, AA has no reason to question it as long as the card info matches up. Unless your Amex information was stored on AA.com and was stolen from AA's web site, I don't see where AA is responsible.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">2. Where should I vent, if at all? AA, who accepted the last minute reservation using my Amex, but for an individual whose name did not remotely resemble mine? </font>
Business travelers buy last minute tickets all of the time, and for all AA knew, you were this guy's co-worker picking up the tab. Again, unless informed by the credit card issuer there is fraud, AA is like any other web-merchant. They accept your card at face value. Given the advent of e-tickets, there isn't even a question of whether the ticket was mailed to the same billing address as the credit card.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">3. Amex for not having a system that questions such transactions?</font>
Is a $1600 charge abnormal for your account?
Many CC-issuing institutions (including Amex, I believe) do have programs in place where they contact the cardholder if there is unusual activity.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">4. Both since the fraud has occurred and neither is going to take any action at all until at least a month from now?</font>
It's just a procedural matter, and under consumer-protections laws, it's a certainty that AA will be the party who'll end up eating the charge and trying to hunt down the culprit. The fact that Amex can't act until the transaction is posted shouldn't matter, since it'll be cleared up in your favor in due time.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">5. Am I too hyper and should just get on with life?</font>
Only you can answer that.