Timothy Lynch, director of the Cato Institute's Project on Criminal Justice has released a new Policy Analysis entitled: Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Preserving Our Liberties While Fighting Terrorism
"This cycle of terrorist attack followed by government curtailment of civil liberties must be broken—or our society will eventually lose the key attribute that has made it great: freedom. The American people can accept the reality that the president and Congress are simply not capable of preventing terrorist attacks from occurring. Policymakers should stop pretending otherwise and focus their attention on combating terrorism within the framework of a free society."
I've only read the executive summary so far, but like most Cato analysis, I'm sure I'll agree with the conclusions drawn by Lynch. Give it a read.