There was an assistant director of counterterrorism from the Clinton Administration who wrote a similar op-ed piece for the New York Times. It appeared in August 2001.....
Yes, indeedy-
The Declining Terrorist Threat by Larry C. Johnson (July 10, 2001 NYTimes:
"Judging from news reports and the portrayal of villains in our popular entertainment, Americans are bedeviled by fantasies about terrorism. They seem to believe that terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States and that it is becoming more widespread and lethal. They are likely to think tht the United States is the most popular target of terrorists. And they almost certainly have the impression that extremist Islamic groups cause most terrorism. None of these beliefs are based in fact..."