The atrocities of Sept. 11 are regarded as a historicevent, which is true, though not because of their scale. In its civilian toll,the crime is far from unusual in the annals of violence short of war. To mentiononly one example, so minor in context as to be a mere footnote, a Panamanianjournalist, condemning the crimes of Sept. 11, observed that for Panamanians the"sinister times" are not unfamiliar, recalling the US bombing of thebarrio Chorrillo during "Operation Just Cause" with perhaps thousandskilled; our crimes, so there is no serious accounting. The atrocities of Sept.11 are indeed a historic event, but because of their target. For the US, it isthe first time since the British burned down Washington in 1814 that thenational territory has been under serious attack, even threatened. There is noneed to review what has been done to others in the two centuries since. ForEurope, the reversal is even more dramatic. While conquering much of the world,leaving a trail of terror and devastation, Europeans were safe from attack bytheir victims, with rare and limited exceptions. It is not surprising, then,that Europe and its offshoots should be shocked by the crimes of Sept. 11, adramatic breach of the norms of acceptable behavior for hundreds of years.