10 PARTISAN REVIEW
poster slogans," and advocating "building bridges and relationships"
with enemies, now might be addressing seriously the problems of com–
batting terrorism. (In the coffee houses of Paris, students wearing
chadors
were heatedly debating these issues with blond ones.) In other
words, close knowledge of other cultures alone can lead to profound
ways of perceiving diverse views of secular and religious customs-the
true diversities . Moreover, such knowledge would go a long way in dis–
pelling some of the utter helplessness of the younger Americans, who,
unlike most of their overseas peers, never have experienced trauma and
insecurity. In any event, they would be better prepared to save what our
flag stands for than by flying it from buildings and cars. Nevertheless, it
is a good sign that Americans are standing together.
DANIEL DAYAN
Untimely Information: Tales of Victims In the
French Media
S
trangely, until now many French commentators have refused to see
the events of September
II, 200I,
in relation to previous ones-as,
for example, an extension of the intifada, or as (successful) imple–
mentation of Durban's (aborted) program. In effect, they have sur–
rounded them with a
cordon sanitaire,
isolating what happened in New
York from the events that set the stage. Insofar as this posture avoids
hasty amalgams, it has analytical virtue. However, there is something
defensive in refusing to see the larger situation; by cutting it up into sup–
posedly separate elements, thus making it illegible. We are told that
pointing to a loose network of Islamic organizations is a form of loose
thinking, hereby forgetting that Islamic networks are kept loose by
design, and that the impossibility of immediately identifying perpetra–
tors is meant to allow the brilliant orchestration of denials and rumors
that lead (Pakistani) officials as well as (Parisian) intellectuals to ask
themselves who the "true" beneficiaries of the crimes really are, and to
designate, for example, Israel.
In effect, there are "real" beneficiaries, just as there is "real" racism,
"real" genocide, and "real" crime against humanity. All these "reali–
ties" distinguish themselves from observable realities by the same
