"War in the old conception was temporary: the idea was explicitly that the state of war would end, and that the normal rules of democracy would resume once their conditions had been reestablished. Civil liberties and the institutions of democratic government are not entirely eliminated during wartime; rather, they are reduced in their scope while retaining their same overall form. Even in conditions of total war mobilization, clear boundaries between the military and civilian sides of society are maintained. But war, we are told, no longer works that way. No such boundaries are possible. It follows, therefore, that "war" in the new sense -- war with no beginning or end, no front and rear, and no distinction between military and civilian -- is incompatible with democracy, and not just in practice, not just temporarily, but permanently and conceptually. If we conceptualize war the way the defense intellectuals suggest, then to declare war is to destroy the conditions of democracy. War, in this new sense, can never be justified."

"The danger of "total war" against the spectre named Osama bin Laden, then, is that it will reinforce the worst tendencies in our society, and that far from preserving the conditions of democracy it will undermine the cultural and institutional foundations upon which democracy rests. It will be war without end, without boundaries, without even a coherent conception of itself save as the expression of an impulse to vengeance."

The Christian Science Monitor Retaliation is trickier than Afghan terrain

"The elusive Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden, who is in some ways a modern-day Assassin, is being increasingly identified as the architect of Tuesday's attacks on the US. Like the ancient sect, he vows to evict foreigners from the Middle East and favors mountain hideaways. Without specifically referring to Mr. bin Laden, Secretary of State Colin Powell promised Wednesday to launch a "multifaceted attack on many dimensions ... to bring this scourge [of terrorism] under control."

But analysts say that an American duplication of the Mongols' success will not be easy. If bin Laden is, indeed, the source of the attacks, US retribution is likely to be geographically complex and replete with risks that could lead to a wider war."

News.Com Bush visits New York, calls up reservists

"President Bush, vowing to "rid the world of evil," called 50,000 military reservists to duty, won power from Congress to wage war on terrorists, and waded into the ruins of Tuesday's attacks in a flag-waving, bullhorn-wielding show of resolve.

"I can hear you," Bush told hundreds of weary rescue workers Friday at the World Trade Center in New York. "The rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these building down will hear all of us soon.""

The Fresno Bee Bush puts new rules of war into play after attacks on America

"A state of war doesn't mean the end of law.

But in the wake of Tuesday's devastating terrorist attacks, some sobering new rules do apply. For the Bush administration, that will mean considerable leeway in retaliating for the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center complex.

"In wartime," Johns Hopkins University professor Ruth Wedgewood said Wednesday, "you don't have to prove things beyond a reasonable doubt.""