The state is in danger of falling into disrepute due to the evidence of its inadequate resources.

Osama bin Laden, the person, more likely serves the function of a stand-in. Compare the new terrorists with partisans or conventional terrorists in Israel. These people often fight in a decentralized manner in small, autonomous units, too.

I cannot imagine a context that would some day, in some manner, make the monstrous crime of September 11 an understandable or comprehensible political act

The uncertainty of the danger belongs to the essence of terrorism.

Perhaps at a later point important developments will be traced back to September 11. But for now we do not know which of the many scenarios will actually hold in the future.

Manhattan... capital of the 20th century, a city that has fascinated me for more than three decades.

From a moral point of view, there is no excuse for terrorist acts, regardless of the motive or the situation under which they are carried out.