LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — It’s been a long time since I felt withdrawal symptoms as acutely as I did today, cooped up at a counterinsurgency conference. (Real talk: I find that shit really really interesting.) Kept checking my BlackBerry and I’m interested to see that liberal panic is at a minimum. At least in my inbox. That’s what she said.

One thing that I’ve heard my friends say already is that an Obama win will mean the end of the 9/11 Era. And there I’ve got to wonder what we mean by the 9/11 Era. Do we mean an era of persistent fear? An era of persistent and politically-exploited fear? Or what? I don’t know anyone who actually believes the era of jihadism is at an end, and I don’t think that’s what my friends mean by this. I think they mean the end of politically-exploited fear. And that’s, I think, true. In "The Obama Doctrine," I was surprised to report how all members of Obama’s foreign policy team with whom I spoke of ending the "politics of fear" surrounding national security.

What I’d suggest it doesn’t mean is the end of concerns over terrorism. It’s really, really important to remember how early and consistently Barack Obama discussed refocusing on Afghanistan-Pakistan. I’ve written about this a lot. Do not expect Obama to talk — ever — about an "inordinate fear of terrorism" or some such.