Passion and Nation: War, Crime, and Guilt in the Individual and the Collective

The United States of America is now at war. The infamous destruction of September 11, 2001, which led to this commitment, was of the form and scope of acts that traditionally have led to war. Despite our confidence that we must attack the terrorists, it is unclear who, exactly, our target is. The enemy includes an unknown number of terrorist organizations, particularly al Qaeda. The enemy also includes a number of states. This is an unusual war, without a clear enemy and without a clear end. It is fair to ask whether this is a war at all. Congress has not declared war; it has only authorized the President to use force to prevent further attacks. The war on terrorism is neither a civil war nor a war between states, although like the Peloponnesian War two millennia past, it may come to incorporate several of each