Philip Zelikow, the executive director of the 9-11 Commission who is credited by some commentators with creating a detailed outline of the commission's report before the data were in, seems to think that too much antiterrorist momentum has built up in Washington, and that the train needs to slow down in some respects. In a five-minute video interview with a staff member of the foreign policy magazine "Foreign Affairs" (www.cfr.org), Zelikow indicated that the bureaucracy put into place after 9-11 by Washington to deal with the [practically nonexistent] "terrorist" threat ought to change policy direction, but is resistant to doing so.

Zelikow patted himself and the commission on the back for what he deemed the commission's successes. "The country is safer than it was," Zelikow claimed. He crowed loudly at the balance that has been struck between civil liberties and security, saying the worst blow to freedom would be another "terrorist" attack like the one on 9-11.

According to the interview, Zelikow has recently authored an update to the 9-11 Commission Report, and has also posted an article with similar content for "Foreign Affairs."

Zelikow elaborated on where he thinks antiterrorism policy is headed in a panel discusson on Sept. 12. [Transcript: http://www.cfr.org/united-states/conversation-philip-zelikow/p25860]