Unfortunately my English is too bad to participate to this very interesting topic. Probably i misunderstood something, please MVerta and other guys, forgive me for eventual wrong interpretations of your words.
I agree, US not suffered any foreigner terrorist attack since 9/11... But do not forget that for the previous 500 years US not suffered any foreigner terrorist attack too. That means it's really difficult to define the rules of the presence-absence of terror attacks.
Imagine a software that runs fine for 500 years and finally it crashes. The programmer will not be able to fix the bug with a single exception.
About other countries and their attitude versus terrorism...allow me only one stupid phrase: Every tool, if you hold it right, is a weapon. Under this light i can't imagine any solution to terrorism based on the very simple friend-enemy paradigm.
By the way, all political philosophers that based their theories on the friend-enemy paradigm, used this paradigm to demonstrate the inefficiency of Democracy. So, it's a deep and funny contradiction to base the solidity of a democracy on the Friend-Enemy paradigm. About the use of the word "Nature" in a logical discussion.
The word "Nature" was used in every Age and by every society like the big rhetoric Joker. A little bit like the word "God".
In the Greek period the word Nature has a different meaning as for the Romans, and the same is true for the gohtic period, for the renaissance, during the baroque, the Romantic (alone during the romantic period the word Nature has about 10 different and completely contradicting meanings), and the Fascist period claimed too to be Nature's favorite child. The word Nature is a great prostitute.
About power relations between governments during the "state of exception" (terrorist act).
One of the definitions of sovereign power since more as 200 Years is following: Sovereign is who, during a " state of exception", has the power to take decisions.
Yes, the exception is fundamental for the constitution and definition of a sovereign power...
Without any question during and after 9/11 US was the country with enough power to take decisions worldwide. With this role US is obviously the most heated and criticized country in the world. More power, more actions, more responsibility, more hate, more fear, more contradictions... it's an empire guys!!! I, personally don't belive empires and soverings and i don't belive that the Friend-Enemy paradigm is the only possible for humans.
It's too difficult for me to continue to write down this stuff in english.
Better i stop now.
- By Andreas Hopf
- By choo-chee