But as any sensible person knows: "the first casualty of war is truth", and there is no reason to assume that in this ongoing era of warfare the rules are going to change regardless of which side you are on. What will change is the way in which battles are fought, for the archetypal "Crowned and Conquering Child" is no longer in his infancy, and therefore the methods and techniques of how battles are fought will certainly have evolved considerably.

To take an example (and again please excuse my logical analysis as opposed to an emotional one): how well thought-out were the recent US terrorist attacks? I mean, whoever masterminded the operation certainly got the maximum effect out of the minimum of hardware. A couple of planes, fuelled to the goddamn teeth, and flown directly into those vastly populated twin icons of western Capitalism was a plot that was almost beautifully coordinated and executed to perfection (okay, maybe not "beautifully coordinated" but I hope you get my general meaning - merely words used for effect if you like - shit, I can hear the lynch mob outside my door as I write).

Then there was the Pentagon, the headquarters for defence and the nerve centre of warfare command and control; a building that houses approximately 23,000 employees, both military and civilian. In many respects it was fortunate that there was not a far larger number of fatalities in that attack.

And as for United Airlines Flight 93, had it hit the White House instead of failing to meet its target (for whatever reason), I am almost certain that the terrorists' dream would've been sublimely complete: high casualties, crippled American economy and icons of US omnipotence demolished to rubble.

And incidentally, I do suspect that Flight 93 was shot down by the US Air Force as opposed to being wrestled away from the hijackers by several passengers; for rarely does one find the front half of a crashed aircraft to be several miles away from the rear half (an early report that seemed to vanish into obscurity before the story of "Heroic Passengers" took hold). I'm not saying however that there wasn't a heroic struggle, just that I am dubious about whether the crash actually resulted directly from it.

But whatever the outcome the world is at war again, and in times like these a nation will do almost anything to get the support of its people. Today (September 25, 2001) saw the arrival of the "germ warfare" scare; not that I'd put it past the capabilities of the terrorist groups responsible for the WTC disaster, it's just that I find it highly unlikely, for during times like these I find I am even more reluctant than I ever was before in believing any form of media coverage whatsoever.

If a "War On Terrorism" has been declared, then the civilised world must endeavour to win through with that war in a far more "civilised" and intelligent manner than has ever previously been pursued. Although the technology exists for civilian casualties to be kept to a minimum, many lives will and have already been disrupted and it is up to the West and its supporters to ensure that proper aid and shelter is given to those who require it most. This is essential if the West is to gain the support of the people.