I don't think that's what it's saying. When people are scared out of their minds they tend to respond reflexively rather than rationally, and in the case of ter

I don't think that's what it's saying. When people are scared out of their minds they tend to respond reflexively rather than rationally, and in the case of terrorism they tend to do things that make things worse (confer legitimacy on the "enemy," give them the war they want, invade Iraq) or things that are totally tangential or even orthogonal to the problem (warrantless domestic wiretapping and mass collection of phone data; giving law enforcement tools and training brutally put down protests; invade Iraq). The author just wants us to respond to terrorism in a rational state of mind, when we at least have a chance of doing things that make the problem better, not worse.