For me, the ultimate terrorist victory can be measured in how much a criminal enterprise can effect political change through violence, and in that sense, I don't think you could argue that they didn't win. Maybe it wasn't exactly the change they were aiming for (or maybe polarizing Islamic states against the west was their specific aim), in which case you could argue they didn't succeed, but I can't help that in a rush to do something, anything, we as a society overreacted and still lurch toward compromise of our ideals as a reflex against further reprisals. I know there's an impulse among some to paint criticism of American policy as being anti-patriotic or even treasonous, but I don't see that there's anything anti-American about insisting that we can do better.

What I was fervently wishing for was an implementation and adherence to this philosophy: It's a lie. Any fool can blow something up. Any fool can destroy. But to see these guys, these firefighters, these policemen and people from all over the country, literally, with buckets rebuilding. That's extraordinary. That's why we've already won. It's light. It's democracy. We've already won. They can't shut that down. They live in chaos and chaos…it can't sustain itself. It never could. It's too easy and it's too unsatisfying. I think, in the long run, we'll make it to that point -- we're closer than we were five years ago -- but it's too early to say we're there yet.