1

[FirstpublishedinAnarchistDevelopmentsinCulturalStudies1(2011),http://www.anarchist
developments.org/index.php/adcs_journal/article/view/34.]

[Index:9/11,torture,USaggression,USpolitics,CarlSchmitt,JohnMilton,JeanCalvin]
[Date:September2011]

9/11,Torture,andLaw

MichaelKeefer

Abstract
Arguing that a primary motive for the public emergence of torture practices in the
Americanempireafter9/11wasthestate'sdesiretolegitimizeitsaccountoftheeventsof
thatday,Iproposethatthedeclarationofapermanentstateofexceptionwasanintended
consequenceoftheeventsof9/11,andsuggestthatthewritingsoftheNazijuristCarl
SchmittarerelevanttotheeffectivedemolitionofU.S.constitutionallawandgovernance
since9/11.Analysisofhisdisplacedtheologyleadstothesuggestionthatresistanceto
lawlessstatesovereigntyshouldincorporateWinstanley'sprojectofalawoffreedom.

Critique will be the art of voluntary insubordination, of

thoughtfulintractability,aimedatensuringthedesubjugation
ofthesubjectinthecontextofwhatwecouldcall,inaword,
thepoliticsoftruth.
MichaelFoucault,WhatisCritique?1
1

MichelFoucault,ThePoliticsofTruth,ed.SylvreLotringer,intro.JohnRajchman,trans.LysaHochroth
andCatherinePorter(LosAngeles:Semiotext(e),2007),p.47;translationmodified.

1
Themostwidelydisseminated narrative about9/11represents therelationship
betweenthetraumaticeventsofSeptember11,2001andthestillunfoldingscandalof
tortureinaworldwidegulagofprisonsandblacksitesrunbytheUnitedStatesandby
cooperatingpowersworldwideasasequentialone.Bythisaccount,whenashadowy
network of Islamist fanatics, outwitting the American intelligence, security and air
defenseapparatuses,managedtostrikeattheheartoftheU.S.financialsystemandthe
headquartersoftheU.S.military,theAmericanstaterespondedwithallthemeansatits
disposaltoidentifyandhuntdownthepeoplewhohadorganizedtheattacks,andto
preventanyrepetitionofthem.Extrememeasureswereresortedtointhehandlingof
peopleinanywaysuspectedofbeingenemiestheillegalityofwhichwasimplicitly
acknowledgedwhenVicePresidentDickCheneyspokeofworkingthroughthedark
side,2orwhenformerCIAcounterterrorismdirectorCoferBlacksaidthatAfter9/11
theglovescameoff.3Throughwhatmayhavebeenexcessiveorinjudiciousconcernfor
public safety, the story goes, the Bush administration set aside the niceties of
constitutionalandinternationallaw,producingastonishmentamongAmericanscholar
ideologues who,untiltaughtotherwisebyphotographsfromAbuGraib,professedto
havebelievedthatonlyotherstates,reprehensibleregimes,engagedintorture.4
2

CheneyusedthephraseinanNBCinterviewwithTimRusserton16September2001;forhisfull
statement,seeDanFroomkin,CheneysDarkSideIsShowing,WashingtonPost(7November2005),
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/blog/2005/11/07/BL2005110700793.html.
3
JohnBarry,MichaelHirsh,andMichaelIsikoff,TheRootsofTerror,Newsweek(24May2004);
quotedbyReedBrophy,TheRoadtoAbuGraib:TortureandImpunityinU.S.Detention,inKenneth
Rothetal.,eds.,Torture:DoesItMakeUsSafer?IsItEverOK?AHumanRightsPerspective(NewYork:
TheNewPress,2005),p.146.Thisglovesoffclich,whichappearsinBlacksCongressionaltestimony
in2003,wasusedinOctober2001byaseniorofficerinAfghanistantotellaninterrogatorofAmerican
TalibanJohnWalkerLindhthathehadauthorizationfromSecretaryofDefenseDonaldRumsfeldsoffice
totreattheprisonerbrutally(seeBrophy,pp.14748;andFrankLindh,Americasdetainee001the
persecutionofJohnWalkerLindh,TheObserver[10July2011],
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/10/johnwalkerlindhamericantalibanfather).
4
SeeJeanBethkeElshtain,ReflectionontheProblemofDirtyHands,inSandfordLevinson,ed.,
Torture:ACollection(2nded.,OxfordandNewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2006),p.77.

3
In every significant detail, this narrative is either false or misleading. The
availableevidencepointstoelementswithintheAmericanstateashavingatthevery
least permitted and enabled the events of 9/11. (That evidence includes scholarly
exposuresofthe9/11Commissionsnovelisticreconstructions; 5aswellasrefutationsof
theNationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnologysanalysesoftheTwinTowersand
WTC 7 collapses by studies which expose disabling methodological errors,6 reveal
processes of building collapse compatible only with a hypothesis of controlled
demolition,7demonstratethefalsityofNISTsexplanationofthedebrisburstsemanating
frommanyfloorsbelowthecollapsefrontsintheTwinTowers, 8andprovidedirectproof
fromtheWTCdustthatthecollapsesinvolvedhightemperatureexothermicreactions 9
andtheuseofnanothermateexplosives.)10Thereare,aswell,suggestiveindicationsthat
the legal transformations and imperial wars for which 9/11 furnished a pretext were
plannedlonginadvance.11
5

SeeMichelChossudovsky,AmericasWaronTerrorism(Pincourt,Qubec:GlobalResearch,2005);
PeterDaleScott,TheRoadto9/11:Wealth,Empire,andtheFutureofAmerica(Berkeley:Universityof
CaliforniaPress,2008);andDavidRayGriffin,The9/11CommissionReport:OmissionsandDistortions
(Northampton,MA:OliveBranchPress,2005).
6
JamesGourleyetal.,AppealFiledwithNIST,PursuanttoEarlierRequestforCorrection,Journalof
9/11Studies17(November2007),
http://www.journalof911studies.com/volume/2007/AppealLetterToNISTGourleyEtAl.pdf;andDavidRay
Griffin,TheMysteriousCollapseofWorldTradeCenter7:WhytheFinalOfficialReportabout9/11is
UnscientificandFalse(Northampton,MA:OliveBranchPress,2010).
7
GraemeMacQueenandTonySzamboti,TheMissingJolt:ASimpleRefutationoftheNISTBazant
CollapseHypothesis,Journalof9/11Studies24(January2009),
http://www.journalof911studies.com/volume/2008/TheMissingJolt7.pdf;DavidChandler,WTC7in
Freefall:NoLongerControversial,ArchitectsandEngineersfor9/11Truth(2010),http://www.youtube
.com/watch?v=rVCDpL4Ax7l.
8
KevinRyan,HighVelocityBurstsofDebrisFromPointLikeSourcesintheWTCTowers,Journalof
9/11Studies13(July2007),http://www.journalof911studies.com/volume/2007/Ryan_HVBD.pdf.
9
StevenE.Jonesetal.,ExtremelyhightemperaturesduringtheWorldTradeCenterdestruction,
Journalof9/11Studies19(January2008),
http://www.journalof911studies.com/articles/WTCHighTemp2.pdf;seealsoForensicMetallurgy:
MetallurgicalExaminationofWTCSteelSuggestsExplosives,911Research,
http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/evidence/metallurgy/index.html.
10
NielsH.Harritatal.,ActiveThermiticMaterialDiscoveredinDustfromthe9/11WorldTradeCenter
Catastrophe,BenthamOpenChemistry&PhysicsJournal2(2009):731,
http://www.bentham.org/open/tocpj/articles/V002/7TOCPJ.htm?
TOCPJ/2009/00000002/00000001/7TOCPJ.SGM.Oneobjectiontostudiesthatsupportahypothesisof
controlleddemolitionhasbeenthattheydonotexplainhowpreparationsforitcouldhaveescapedpublic
observation.Butasamatterofmethodology,questionsofhumancontingencycannotdisplaceobserved
physicaloccurrencesintheorderofexplanation.
11
ThevoluminousPATRIOTAct,rushedthroughCongressonthewingsoftheanthraxattacks,was

4
Butmyconcernhereisnotwithevidenceofthiskind.Iwantrathertoengage
withthealternativeunderstandingof9/11towardwhichthisevidencepressesuswhich
involvesrelationshipsbetweentorture,legality,andtheeventsofthatdayquiteunlike
thosesuggestedbytheofficialnarrative.
Mydiscussionoftheserelationshipswilltakewhatmayseemacircuitouspath.
Afternotingthattortureinthepost9/11Americangulaghasservedlessasaresponseto
the9/11attacksthanasameansofconstitutingtheAmericanstatesfictionsabout9/11
andthatsincetortureisthebasisofthestatesaccountofwhattookplace,itis,in
epistemicterms,aprimaryandformativeelementintheorthodoxunderstandingofthat
dayseventsIwillanalyzetheimplicationsofthestateofemergencyproclaimedby
GeorgeW.Bushon9/11.LegalscholarsincludingScottHortonandDavidJ.Lubanhave
remarkedonhauntingparallelsbetweenthetheoriesoftheNazijuristCarlSchmittand
theeffectivedemolitionofconstitutionallawintheUnitedStatessince9/11. 12Inmyown
commentsonSchmittsviewofpoliticalsovereigntyandsystemsoflawasrestingupon
a prior, constitutive capacity to decide on states of emergency or exception, I take
seriouslyhisidentificationofpoliticaldiscourseasdisplacedtheology.Myuseinthe
fourthandfifthpartsofthisessayofparallelsfromMiltonsParadiseLostandCalvins
Institutes as measures of Schmitts extremism may suggest affinities with Christian
anarchism. But in drawing such parallels, I am not participating in Alexandre
Christoyannopoulossprojectofrecognizingananarchistorientationwithinthecanonical
Christiangospels.13 Iampromptedratherbythefact,notedbyGiorgioAgamben,that
clearlypreparedinadvanceof9/11.ItappearsalsothatinJuly2001Americandiplomatsthreatenedan
attackontheAfghanTalibanregime,scheduledforOctober;theevidence,fromreportsintheGuardian
andBBC,wassummarizedbyGoreVidal,DreamingWar:BloodforOilandtheCheneyBushJunta(New
York:ThundersMouthPress/NationBooks,2002),pp.1517.
12
SeeScottHorton,TheReturnofCarlSchmitt,Balkinization(7November2005),
http://balkin.blogspot.com/2005/11/returnofcarlschmitt.html;Horton,StateofException:BushsWar
ontheRuleofLaw,HarpersMagazine(July2007),http://harpers.org/archive/2007/07/0081595;and
DavidJ.Luban,CarlSchmittandtheCritiqueofLawfare,forthcomingintheCaseWesternReserve
JournalofInternationalLaw;availableathttp://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1797904#
%23.(IowetoLubanthereferencestoHortonsarticlesattheBalkinizationbloghereandinnote15
below.)ItisnotunfairtolabelSchmittaNazi:someofhismostinfluentialpublicationswerepublished
beforetheriseofNazism,buthebecameaprominentNazijuristandlegaltheoristfrom1933onward,and
indecadesofactivelifeafterWorldWarIIneverexpressedregretforthatcommitment.
13
SeeAlexandreChristoyannopoulos,ChristianAnarchism:APoliticalCommentaryontheGospel
(Exeter:ImprintAcademic,2010).AlthoughChristoyannopoulossprimaryaimistoconstructagenealogy

5
Schmitts understanding of a secularizing displacement of theology into political
discourseimplies,nottheprocessofgrowingdisenchantmentanddetheologizingof
themodernworldthatonefindsinthethoughtofMaxWeber,butratheracontinuing
presenceandsignificantagencyoftheologywithinthemodern.14
Schmitt is of interest here not just as a theorist of an originary presence of
arbitrary power and lawless violence within purportedly constitutional bourgeois
democraticstates,butalsoasajuristcreditedwithhavingoriginatedtacticsthatduring
the past decade have acquired the name of lawfarewhich means the use of law
(through,forexample,legaljudgmentsauthorizingtortureasanexecutiveprivilege,or
legaladviceendorsingimmunityfortorturers)toenableexecutivepowertoviolate
constitutionalandinternationallawwithimpunity,aswellastheuseoflawasaweapon
ofwaragainstthosewhoattempttoconstrainstateviolencebyappealingtocodesofcivil
libertiesorofinternationallawwhichthestatehassupposedlybounditselftorespect.15
Evidenceofanunmistakablepatternnotjustoftheviolationofdomesticlaws
upholdingcitizensrights andinternational law protecting civilians fromunrestrained
exercises of military power, but of their systematic dismantling, will lead to my
concludingreflectionsontheroleoflawinradicaldemocraticresistancetopost9/11
practicesofstateterroristicrulebythesovereignexception.
ofChristiananarchism,Iwouldquestionhisdecisiontoconfinehimselftothecanonicalgospels(which
postdatethePaulineappropriationofamovementoftheebionim,ordestitute,andthesackofJerusalemin
C.E.70),andtoignorecurrenthistoricalandtextualcriticalstudies(whichdrawonnoncanonicaltexts
includingtheDeadSeaScrollsandtheNagHammadilibrary)ofthemovementsradicallyegalitarian
insurgentmatrix.ThesestudiesincludeJohnDominicCrossan,TheBirthofChristianity(NewYork:
HarperCollins,1998);RobertEisenman,JamestheBrotherofJesus(NewYork:VikingPenguin,1997);
andEisenman,TheNewTestamentCode(London:WatkinsPublishing,2006).Thetextualnaivetyof
Christoyannopoulossdecisiontotakethecanonicalgospelsatfacevalueasvalidaccountsofthelife
andteachingofJesus(p.15)willbeevidenttoanyreaderofBartD.Ehrman,MisquotingJesus:The
StoryBehindWhoChangedtheBibleandWhy(2005;rpt.SanFrancisco:HarperSanFrancisco,2007).
14
GiorgioAgamben,IlRegnoelaGloria:Perunagenealogiateologicadelleconomiaedelgoverno.
HomosacerII,2(2nded.,Turin:UniversaleBollatiBoringhieri,2009),p.15;mytranslation.
15
IhavequotedherefromPhilipGiraldi,AllsFareinWar,Antiwar.com(7July2011),
http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/07/06/allsfareinwar/.SeealsoScottHorton,CarlSchmittand
theMilitaryCommissionsActof2006,Balkinization(16October2006),
http://balkin.blogspot.com/2006/10/carlschmittandmilitarycommissions_16.html;Horton,Carl
Schmitt,theDolchstolegende,andtheLawofArmedConflict,Balkinization(21October2006),
http://balkin.blogspot.com/2006/10/carlschmittdolchstolegendeandlaw.html;Horton,AKinder,
GentlerLawfare,HarpersMagazine(30November2007),http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/11/hbc
90001803;andLuban,CarlSchmittandtheCritiqueofLawfare,510.

2
Iwouldproposethattherelationshipbetweenthe9/11attacksandwhatensued
wasnotasadvertised.Theproclamationonthedayitselfofastateofemergency,and
shortlythereafterofaGlobalWaronTerror,theeffectivecancellationoftheU.S.Billof
RightsthroughthePATRIOTActandothermeasures,andtheinvasionsandoccupations
ofAfghanistanandIraqwerenotcontingent sequelae ofanunforeseenevent.Onthe
contrary:theeventwasaplannedpretextforwhatfollowedit.16
Astotorture,thepractices thatbecame sowidespreadafter9/11werehardly
unprecedentedfor although most American political scientists and journalists have
avertedtheireyesfromthefact,theU.S.hasforoverhalfacenturybeentheprincipal
international disseminator of torture. During the 1950s and early 1960s the CIA
developed a new model of tortureadding, as Alfred W. McCoy writes, sensory
deprivationandselfinflictedpaintotheexistingrepertoireforaneffectthat,forthe
first time in the two millennia of this cruel science, was more psychological than
physical;17 the new torture methods were then propagated to American satrapies
throughoutLatinAmericaandAsia.18
16

Thismayseemaboldclaim:Iamproposingsimplythatpatternsofintentionalityevidentwithinstate
action(orabstentionfromaction)on9/11arelinkedtotheintentionalityoflaterstateresponsestothe
eventsofthatday.TwoessaysinPaulZarembka,ed.,TheHiddenHistoryof9/11(2nded.,NewYork:
SevenStoriesPress,2008),arerelevanttothesepatternsofintentionality:DavidMcGregor,September11
asMachiavellianStateTerror,pp.183214;andDianaRalph,IslamophobiaandtheWaronTerror:
TheContinuingPretextforU.S.ImperialConquest,pp.25390.Theevidencerelatingtothematerialfacts
ofthedestructionofWTC1,2and7citedinnotes6to10abovepointstoextensiveadvanceplanningof
demolitions,whosetimingwaslinkedtoattackswithhijackedaircraftwhichsucceededduetomultiple
lapseswithintheU.S.airdefensesystem.(Thesuspectnatureoftheselapseshasbeenwidelystudied:see,
forexample,Scott,TheRoadto9/11,pp.194235;andNafeezMossadeqAhmed,TheWaronTruth:9/11,
Disinformation,andtheAnatomyofTerrorism[Northampton,MA:OliveBranchPress,2005],pp.267
316.)
17
AlfredW.McCoy,AQuestionofTorture:CIAInterrogationfromtheColdWartotheWaronTerror
(NewYork:Metropolitan/Owl,2006),pp.2653.Thewordsquoted,fromp.50,describetheCIAs
KubarkCounterintelligenceInterrogationhandbook(1963).
18
See,forexample,LesleyGill,TheSchooloftheAmericas:MilitaryTrainingandPoliticalViolencein
theAmericas(Durham,NC:DukeUniversityPress,2004);andMcCoy,AQuestionofTorture,where
detailsaregivenonthePhoenixPrograminVietnam,whichbetween1966and1972involvedthemurder

7
Atickingtimebombscenarioinwhich,againstallplausibility,theforcesof
ordersomehowknoweverythingaboutanimpendingmasscasualtybombattackexcept
wherethepersonintheircustody(whomtheyalsoknowwithcertaintytobethebomber)
hasplantedhisexplosives,isregularlyusedbycontemporaryapologistsfortortureto
justifypreventiveinterrogationaltorture.19 Buttheprimarypurposeoftortureinthe
post9/11 American gulag has not been to wrest information from enemies, whether
aboutpasteventsorcurrentandfutureactions.Ithasservedmoredistinctlytoterrorize
foreignvictimsofUSaggression,andtohelpdeceiveAmericans.HenryShuehasargued
that The extraction of information from the victim, which perhapswhatever the
deepestmotivationoftorturersmayhavebeenhashistoricallybeenadominantexplicit
purposeoftortureisnow,inworldpractice,overshadowedbythegoaloftheintimidation
ofpeopleotherthanthevictim.20Thereiscopiousevidencethatthedominantformof
post9/11torturehasbeenterroristicinthissense,ratherthaninterrogational.21
Andyetitisalsowelldocumentedthatamoreimmediateaimofpost9/11torture
was to provide support for fictions being propagated by the Bush administration.
JonathanSchellhasremarkedthatinlate2001and2002,
The Bush administration, hellbent on justifying its forthcoming
invasionofIraq,wasransackingtheintelligencebureaucracytofindor
producetwothingsthat,itturnsout,didnotexist:weaponsofmass
of82,000suspectedenemiesandof26,000prisoners(pp.6271),similaroperationsinUruguay,Colombia
andCentralAmericafromthelate1960stothe1980s(pp.7174),theexportingoftorturetoIraninthe
1960sand70s(pp.7475),andtothePhilippinesfrom1972totheearly90s(pp.7586),andcontinuitiesin
torturetrainingandtheeffectivelegalizationby1997ofCIAtorturetechniques(pp.86107).SeealsoKate
Millett,ThePoliticsofCruelty(NewYork:Norton,1994),pp.25379(onGuatemalaandElSalvador).
TheAmericanmilitarydeniedanyinvolvementinCentralAmericanatrocities,butin2004,afterthe
outbreakofresistancetooccupationinIraq,seniorofficersspokeopenlyofmovingtoaSalvadoran
option.
19
OrenGross,TheProhibitiononTortureandtheLimitsoftheLaw,inLevinson,ed.,Torture,p.237.
20
HenryShue,Torture,inLevinson,ed.,Torture,p.53.
21
TheseareShuesterms.SeetheReportoftheInternationalCommitteeoftheRedCross(ICRC)onthe
TreatmentbytheCoalitionForcesofPrisonersofWarandOtherPersonsProtectedbytheGeneva
ConventionsinIraqDuringArrest,InternmentandInterrogation(February2004),inKarenJ.Greenberg
andJoshuaL.Dratel,eds.,TheTorturePapers:TheRoadtoAbuGraib(CambridgeandNewYork:
CambridgeUniversityPress,2005),pp.383404,forevidenceofterroristictreatment(includingroutine
torture)ofdetaineesinIraq.Itseemstohavebeenwidelyunderstoodthatmostdetaineeshadno
connectiontotheIraqiresistance:intelligenceofficersarequotedasestimatingthat70%to90%ofthem
hadbeenarrestedbymistake(p.388).

8
destructionprogramsinIraqandcooperationbetweenAlQaedaand
the regime of Saddam Hussein. [.] Soon, prisoners were being
torturedtoprovideevidenceoftheAlQaedaSaddamlink.AsCol.
Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powells chief of staff, has stated, the
harshinterrogationinAprilandMayof2002wasnotaimedat
preempting another terrorist attack on the U.S. but discovering a
smokinggunlinkingIraqandAlQaeda.Andaccordingtotherecent
SenateArmedServicesreportonthetreatmentofdetainees,aformer
Armypsychiatrist,Maj.CharlesBurney,hasconfirmedthecharge.A
largepartofthetime,hetoldArmyinvestigators,wewerefocused
ontryingtoestablishalinkbetweenAlQaedaandIraq[].22
The WMD and Saddamal Qaeda fictions may be remembered as notorious
failures,buttheyservedtheirshorttermpurposeofstirringupwarfever,andtheU.S.
corporatemediadutifullywithheldtheevidenceoftheirfalsityfromtheAmericanpublic
until it could make no difference. Despite early and continuing refutations, another
torturebasedfiction,the9/11CommissionReport,appearstobeenjoyingsomedegreeof
continuingsuccess,atleastamongpropagandistsfortheofficialstory:inthefirstchapter
ofhisrecentpolemicagainst9/11skeptics,JonathanKayrecommendsittoreaderswho
wish to devote more time to the issue.23 But in early 2008 an analysis of this text
conductedfor NBCNews byRobertWindremandVictorLimjocorevealedthatmore
thanonequarterofallfootnotesinthe 9/11Report refertoCIAinterrogations ofal
Qaedaoperativessubjectedtothenowcontroversialinterrogationtechniques 24or,in
22

JonathanSchell,TortureandTruth,CBSNews(7June2010),
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/28/opinion/main5047700.shtml.Itshouldbenotedthatevidence
ofIraqiWMDsandlinkswithalQaedadidnotjustturnoutnottoexist.SeniorAmericanofficialsknew
in1995fromtheinterrogationofSaddamsdefectorsoninlawthatIraqiWMDprogramshadbeen
cancelledafterthe1991GulfWarandexistingstocksofbiologicalandchemicalweaponsdestroyed.And
U.S.claimsaboutalQaedalinksbaseduponameetinginPraguebetweenMohammedAttaandIraqi
diplomatsthatneveroccurred,supposedtreatmentinIraqihospitalsofthelargelyfictionalterroristAbu
MusabalZarqawi,andtheexistence,inapartofnorthernIraqborderingonIranthathadbeenremoved
fromSaddamHusseinscontrol,ofatrainingcamprunbyaCIAsupportedfringegroupwerewholly
implausible.
23
JonathanKay,AmongtheTruthers(Toronto:HarperCollins,2011),p.20.
24
RobertWindremandVictorLimjoco,9/11CommissionControversy,MSNBC(30January2008);
thoughdeletedfromtheMSNBCwebsite,thisarticleisavailableat

9
Windremswords,enhancedinterrogationtechniques,ortorture.25Moreover,Mostof
theinformationinChapters5,6and7oftheReportcamefromtheinterrogations.Those
chapterscovertheinitialplanningfortheattack,theassemblingofterroristcells,andthe
arrivalofthehijackersintheU.S.26
Thefactthatthe9/11CommissionReportsmostcriticalchapters,thoseonthe
planningandexecutionoftheattacks,27arebasedontortureraisesaproblemthatgoes
beyondanyquestionsoflegality:statements arisingoutoftorturehavenoevidential
value,becausetheintentionalitytheyexpressisthatofthetorturers.Admissionselicited
from 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, for example, might well be
confirmed by those of Abu Zubaydah, another highvalue prisonerbut when one
knowsthattheformerwaswaterboardedahallucinatoryonehundredandeightythree
times by the CIA, and the latter eightythree times, 28 both the admissions and their
confirmationaremeaningless.
AsElaineScarrywroteinaclassicstudy,tortureconsistsofactsthatmagnify
thewayinwhichpaindestroysapersonsworld,self,andvoice;andtorturersmime
theeffectsofpainbybreakingoffthevoice,makingittheirown,makingitspeaktheir
words.29 Torture, in short, is a form of ventriloquismand the 9/11 Commission
ReportsstatementsabouttheagenciesresponsiblefortheattacksthatlaunchedtheWar
onTerrorthereforehavetheepistemicstatusofpurefiction.30
The 9/11 Commissions own members appear to have been troubled by the
informationtheywerereceivingfromtheCIA,buttheirrequeststointerviewthehigh
value prisoners, or, failing that, their interrogators, were deniedand led only to a
http://911research.wtc7.net/cache/post911/commission/msnbc_commission_torture.html.
25
RobertWindrem,Blogs&Stories:CheneysRoleDeepens,TheDailyBeast(13May2009),
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogsandstories/20090513/cheneysroledeepens/p/.
26
WindremandLimjoco,9/11CommissionControversy.
27
Windrem,CheneysRoleDeepens.
28
September11mastermindKhalidSheikhMohammedwaterboarded183times,TheSundayTimes
(20April2009),http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6130165.ece.
29
ElaineScarry,TheBodyinPain:TheMakingandUnmakingoftheWorld(1985;rpt.NewYork:
OxfordUniversityPress,1987),pp.50,54.
30
ThisdoesnotinvalidateothernontorturebasedstatementsmadewithintheReport.Butthefactthat
nearlyeveryclaimintheReportsmostcriticalchaptersisbasedontorturedoeswhollyinvalidatethe
narrativeofthosechapters.

10
furtherroundoftortureinterrogations.31 In2005,theCIAdestroyeditsvideotapesof
interrogations,indefianceofcourtordersrequiringtheirpreservation. 32Notmerelyisthe
torture evidence effectively fictional, then, butthe primary documents which might
haveallowedajudgmentofthemeaningandtheaccuracyofthetranscriptssupplied
totheCommissionnolongerexist.

3
AccordingtotheinterpretationadvancedbyGeorgeW.Bushandhisgovernment,
theattacksof9/11wereanexpressionbyMuslimfanaticsofirrationalhatredforthe
freedomsenjoyedbyAmericans.Ifthecrimeinthisviewhadareligiousdimension,so
alsodidBushspublicresponsetoit.SpeakingonSeptember14,2001fromthepulpitof
theNationalCathedralinWashington,DC,hedeclaredthat
ourresponsibilitytohistoryisalreadyclear:Toanswertheseattacks
andridtheworldofevil.Warhasbeenwagedagainstusbystealth
anddeceitandmurder.ThisNationispeaceful,butfiercewhenstirred
toanger.[.]Ineverygeneration,theworldhasproducedenemiesof
human freedom. They have attacked America, because we are
freedomshomeanddefender.Andthecommitmentofourfathersis
now the calling of our time. On this National Day of Prayer and
RemembranceweaskAlmightyGodtowatchoverourNationand
grantuspatienceandresolveinallthatistocome.33
31

SeeThe9/11Commission&Torture:HowInformationGainedThroughWaterboarding&Harsh
InterrogationsFormMajorPartof9/11CommissionReport,DemocracyNow!(7February2008),
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/2/7/the_9_11_commission_torture_how.
32
Complete911Timeline:DestructionofCIAInterrogationTapes,HistoryCommons,
http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?
timeline=complete_911_timeline&complete_911_timeline__war_on_terrorism__outside_iraq=complete_9
11_timeline_destruction_of_cia_tapes.SeealsoMarisaTaylor,NochargesoverdestroyedCIAtapes,
MiamiHerald(10November2010),http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/10/1917891/nochargesover
destroyedcia.html.
33
GeorgeW.Bush,RemarksattheNationalDayofPrayerandRemembranceService,September14,
2001,TheAmericanPresidencyProject,http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?

11
Themostimmediatemessageof9/11wasthatAmericansarenotsafeintheir
owncities:Bushclaimedtheycouldbemadesafeoncemorebyanansweringviolence,
eyeforaneye,thatwoulddestroytheshadowyIslamistnetworkblamedfortheattacks,
together with all of its adherents and supporters, whether governments, gangs, or
individuals.
Whenmighttheworldatlastbepurgedofevil?InhisNationalCathedraladdress,
BushdeclaredthatThisconflictwasbegunonthetimingandtermsofothers.Itwillend
inawayandatanhourofourchoosing.(Thathour,itgraduallyemerged,mightbe
longdeferred:retiredGeneralWesleyClarkhasrevealedthatinOctober2001,bywhich
time the bombing of Afghanistan had begun, the Pentagon received a memo from
SecretaryofDefenseDonaldRumsfeldlayingoutplansforthemilitarytotakeouta
furthersevenMiddleEasternandNorthAfricancountriesoverthenextfiveyears; 34and
inJanuary2004,VicePresidentDickCheneyannouncedthattheglobalwaronterror
mightlastforgenerations.)35
BushanunlikelydiaristwassaidbyCBSNewstohavewritteninhisdiaryon
the evening of September 11 that The Pearl Harbor of the 21 st century took place
today.36TheNationalCathedraladdresswas,inresponse,bothadeclarationofwarand
alsoasermon,situatingthe9/11attackswithinadiscourseofdivineprovidence:Gods
signsarenotalwaystheoneswelookfor.Welearnintragedythathispurposesarenot
alwaysourown.Nonetheless,ThisworldHecreatedisofmoraldesign. 37 Actsof
sacrifice, generosity, courage, and resourcefulness in the responses of ordinary
Americans on 9/11 were taken in this sermon as evidence of the nations essential
goodnessand therefore, by implication, of its fitness for the leading role in an
pid=63645#axzz1ODDkXOtT.
34
SeeAmyGoodman,Gen.WesleyClarkWeighsPresidentialBid:IThinkAboutItEveryday,
DemocracyNow!(2March2007),
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/3/2/gen_wesley_clark_weighs_presidential_bid.Thecountriesin
questionwereIraq,Syria,Lebanon,Libya,Somalia,Sudan,andIran.
35
Cheney:WarCouldLastGenerations,NewsMax.comWires(17January2004),
http://archive.newsmax.xom/archives/articles/2004/1/16/232041.shtml.
36
QuotedfromTheWashingtonPost(27January2002)byDavidRayGriffin,TheNewPearlHarbor:
DisturbingQuestionsabouttheBushAdministrationand9/11(2nded.;Northampton,MA:OliveBranch
Press,2004),p.xi.
37
GeorgeW.Bush,Remarks.

12
apocalypticManichaeandramaofgoodversusevil.
Bymeansofthisunprecedenteddeclarationofwarinacathedral,theFrench9/11
skepticThierryMeyssanremarkedin2002,theAmericangovernmentconsecrated[]
itsversionofevents.Fromthenon,anyquestioningoftheofficialtruthwouldbeseenas
sacrilege.38WehadenteredthedomainofwhattheNazijuristandpoliticaltheoristCarl
Schmittcalledpoliticaltheology.

4
Carl Schmitts book Politische Theologie (1922) famously defined sovereign
powerintermsofitscapacitytosuspend,throughastateofexceptionorofemergency,
thestructureoflegalityandrightsoverwhichitostensiblypresides.Bythesameactor
decision,thesovereignpoweralsoexemptsitselffromwhateversystemoflawitapplies
to others; this sovereign exception or selfexemption is therefore one of its defining
features.39 IntimatelylinkedtothisviewofsovereignpowerisSchmittsviewthatall
significant modern theorizing of the state rests upon a secularizing displacement of
theologicalconcepts.Notsurprisingly,hisanalysisofthestructureoftheexceptionis
overtlydisplacedfromthedomainoftheology.
Schmittreproducesthetraditionaldistinctionbetweendivinetranscendenceand
immanencewhenhewritesthatthesovereignisatthesametimeoutsideandinsidethe
juridical order: the sovereign stands outside the juridical order and, nevertheless,
belongstoit,sinceitisuptohimtodecideiftheconstitutionistobesuspended in

38

ThierryMeyssan,9/11:TheBigLie(London:Carnot,2002),p.79;quotedbyGriffin,TheNewPearl
Harbor,p.xv.TwoyearslaterGriffinaprominenttheologianandphilosopherofreligionaswellasa
9/11scepticwashimselfaccusedofsomethinglikesacrilege:TuckerCarlson,interviewinghimon
MSNBCTV,saidthatitwaswrong,blasphemous,andsinfultohavepublishedbooksconcludingthatthe
evidencepointedtogovernmentcomplicityintheattacksof9/11.SeeTuckerforAugust9,TheEd
Show,MSNBCTV(updated10August2006),http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14285603.
39
CarlSchmitt,PolitischeTheologie.VierKapitelzurLehrevonderSouvernitt(Munich:Dunckler&
Humblot,1922);PoliticalTheology:FourChaptersontheConceptofSovereignty,trans.GeorgeD.
Schwab(Cambridge,MA:MITPress,1985;rpt.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,2005).

13
toto.40TheologicalinthesamesenseisSchmittsclaimthattheexception,whiledefying
generalcodification,simultaneouslyrevealsaspecificallyjuridicalformalelement:the
decision in absolute purity. This claim rests upon the fiction that what precedes a
juridicalordermustbechaos,andthatonlyasovereignpowerpossessinganabsoluteand
unsharedpowerofdecisionmakingcancreat[e]asituationinwhichjuridicalrulescan
bevalid.Schmittoutlinesthispositioninasequenceofaphoristicassertions:
Thereisnorulethatisapplicabletochaos.Ordermustbeestablished
forjuridicalordertomakesense.Aregularsituationmustbecreated,
andsovereignishewhodecidesifthissituationisactuallyeffective.
Alllawissituationallaw.Thesovereigncreatesandguaranteesthe
situationasawholeinitstotality.Hehasthemonopolyoverthefinal
decision. Therein consists the essence of State sovereignty, which
mustthereforebeproperlyjuridicallydefinednotasthemonopolyto
sanctionortorulebutasthemonopolytodecide[].41
GeorgeW.Bushsdeclarationata2006pressconferencethatImthedecider,
andIdecidewhatsbestwasinterpretedatthetimeasachildishtantrumprovokedby
journalistsquestionsabouthisrefusaltofireDefenseSecretaryDonaldRumsfeld.42One
mightjustasplausiblyhearitasavernacularechoofSchmittiandecisionism,which
someone in Bushs entourage (possibly from the Justice Department, whose
constitutional experts had been advancing since September 2001 a similar view of
executivepowerandprivilege)43mayhaveattemptedtoexpoundtohim.
40

PolitischeTheologie,p.13.HereandbelowIamquotingpassagesfromthistextastranslatedbyDaniel
HellerRoazeninGiorgioAgamben,HomoSacer:SovereignPowerandBareLife,trans.DanielHeller
Roazen(Stanford:StanfordUniversityPress,1998)inthisinstance,inAgamben,p.15.
41
PolitischeTheologie,pp.1921;trans.byHellerRoazaninAgamben,HomoSacer,p.16.
42
DickMeyer,Bush:TheDeciderInChief.DickMeyerOntheBiggestKidofAll,CBSNews.com(20
April2006),http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/20/opinion/meyer/main1523934.shtml.
43
SeeforexampleJayS.Bybee,To:AlbertoR.Gonzales,CounseltothePresident,Re:Standardsof
ConductforInterrogationunder18U.S.C.23402340A(August1,2002),inGreenbergandDratel,eds.,
TheTorturePapers,p.204:bothcourtsandprosecutorsshouldrejectprosecutionsthatapplyfederal
criminallawstoactivitythatisauthorizedpursuanttooneofthePresidentsconstitutionalpowers.These
powersmakethesecurityofthenationthepresidentsforemostobjective;BybeequotesAlexander
Hamiltonsargumentthatsincethecircumstanceswhichmayaffectthepublicsafetyarenotreducible
withincertaindeterminatelimits,itfollowsthattherecanbenolimitationofthatauthority[]inany
matteressentialforitsefficacy(p.205).ThepassagefromHamiltonhadpreviouslybeenusedbyJohnC.
Yoo,MemorandumOpinionforTimothyFlanigan[]ThePresidentsConstitutionalAuthorityto

14
NorwasthisthefirstoronlystatementbyBushthatresonateswithSchmittian
doctrines.Imthecommander,hetoldonejournalistinmid2002:See,Idontneedto
explain[].Maybesomebodyneedstoexplaintomewhytheysaysomething,butI
dontfeellikeIoweanybodyanexplanation.Toanotherjournalistwhoaskedinmid
DecemberofthesameyearaboutthedecisiontoinvadeIraq,hereplied:Theresonly
onepersonwhoisresponsibleformakingthatdecision,andthatsme.Andtoathird,on
thesamesubject,afortnightlater:Imthepersonwhogetstodecide,notyou.44
Schmitts statement about theimposition oforderonchaos implies akind of
creationmyth, which we may recognize as sharing the voluntaristic resonances of a
classic meditation on the Christian creation storythe one in which Goethes Faust,
revisingLutherstranslationoftheopeningwordsoftheGospelofSt.John(ImAnfang
wardasWort),arrivesfinallyatImAnfangwardieTat!Inthebeginningwasthe
Deed!45
ButSchmittsimpliedmythisnotthestandardoneofcreationexnihilo(forprior
totheestablishmentofjudicialandsocialorderbyaSchmittiansovereignpowerthere
mustexistadisorderedaggregateofpeople).Itresembles,rather,Miltonsversionin
ParadiseLost:astoryofcreationthroughtheimpositionoforderuponchaoticmatter
that is notyet nature, a wild abyss of warringembryon atoms, the domain ofa
personified Chaosout of whose dark materials the Almighty Maker fashions a
cosmos46whichincludeshell,theplaceoftorturewithoutendintowhichhecastsSatan
andtheotherrebelangels.47ForMilton,thisprimalmatterisnotpassive,buteffectively
resistanttotheimpositionoforder:onceSatanhasfoundhiswayoutofhell,Chaos,the
Anarch48 ornonruleroftheabyssofdisorderthatliesoutsidehellsgate,giveshim
ConductMilitaryOperationsAgainstTerroristsandNationsSupportingThem(September25,2001),in
TheTorturePapers,p.4.
44
MarkCrispinMiller,CruelandUnusual:Bush/CheneysNewWorldOrder(NewYork:Norton,2004),
p.xxi.
45
JohannWolfgangGoethe,Faust,ed.HannsW.Eppelsheimer(1962;rpt.Munich:Deutscher
TaschenbuchVerlag,1973),line1237.
46
JohnMilton,ParadiseLost,BookII,lines910(wildabyss),900(embryonatoms),895,907,960
(Chaos),91516(AlmightyMaker,darkmaterials),inTheAnnotatedMilton:CompleteEnglish
Poems,ed.BurtonRaffel(NewYork:BantamClassics,1999),pp.199202.
47
ParadiseLost,BookI,line67,p.137.
48
BookII,line988,p.202.

15
directionstothenewworld,hopinghewillruinitandreturnittoitspriorcondition. 49
And the sequence of creation indicated by Chaos to Satan appears significant: the
sovereignpowermadeFirstHell,/Yourdungeon,stretchingfarandwidebeneath;/
NowlatelyHeavnandearth,anotherworld/Hungoermyrealm.50
Schmitt,analogously,seessovereignpowerascreatingorderoutofaresistant
socialchaos,anddoingsopreciselythroughthesovereignsprimalcapacitytoresortto
unregulated force by deciding on a state ofexception or emergencywhich Giorgio
Agambenhassuggestivelydescribedasthecreationofaspacedevoidoflaw[.]the
creation of a zone of anomy in which all legal determinations find themselves
inactivated.51
SpatializedaccountsofSchmittsstateofexception,orofthetheologianshell
(which becomes a condition of perpetual separation from and punishment by the
sovereignpower),areofcoursemetaphorical.AsthedevilMephastophilisinformedone
transgressiveinquirer,ChristopherMarlowesDr.Faustus,hell,Wherewearetorturd
andremainforever[.]hathnolimits,noriscircumscribd/Inoneselfplace,forwhere
weareishell.52 Itremains the casethat inSchmitts creation, as inMiltons,an
orderedcosmosiscomplementedbyanantecedentspacedevoidoflawthatexists,
potentiallyorinactuality,atthewillofthesovereignpowerandthatcanberecognized,
oncewemovebeyondSchmittsabstractionsintothinkingabouttheexperientialrealities
oftheexerciseofpowerbeyondlaw,asaspaceorconditionofhorrorandsuffering,
withinwhichsovereignpowerisperceived,asbyMiltonsfallenangels,intermsof

49

BookII,lines100709,p.203.
BookII,lines100205,p.203.
51
GiorgioAgamben,TheStateofEmergency,lectureattheCentreRolandBarthes(UniversitdeParis
VII,DenisDiderot),c.2005,availableonlineathttp://www.generation
online.org/p/fpagambenschmitt.htm.ThelecturecondensesargumentsmadeatgreaterlengthbyAgamben
inStateofException(Statodieccezione,2003),trans.KevinAttell(Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,
2005);andfollowedupinIlRegnoelaGloria(2007)andinTheSacramentofLanguage:AnArchaeology
oftheOath(HomoSacer,II,3)(Ilsacramentodellinguaggio.Archeologiadelgiuramento,2008),trans.
AdamKotsko(Stanford:StanfordUniversityPress,2011).
52
ChristopherMarlowe,TheTragicalHistoryofDoctorFaustus:Acriticaleditionofthe1604version,
withafullcriticaleditionofthecensoredandrevised1616text,ed.MichaelKeefer(Peterborough,ON:
BroadviewPress,2008),II.i.12023,p.209.MiltondevelopsthisconceptinParadiseLost,BookIV,lines
1823.
50

16
wrathormight.53

5
MuchofSchmittsdisplacedtheologizingcouldbelinked,dependingonones
tasteorwhim,tosourcesrangingfromSrenKierkegaard(whomhegoesontoquote,
withoutnaminghim,inthefirstofthepassagesquotedabovefromPolitischeTheologie)
toBlaisePascal(whose Penses includemeditationsonjusticeandforce,amongthem
theradicalacknowledgmentthatbeingunabletomakewhatisjuststrong,wehave
made what is strong just).54 But his closest affinities are with the harshest of the
magisterialReformers,JeanCalvin.
Even prior to any secularizing displacement, Calvins theology has strong
politicalovertones.Regulatingthefaithfulandsocietyatlargewereforhimaspectsof
the same issue; and the final chapter of his Institutes of the Christian Religion is a
substantialtreatiseoncivilgovernmentoneofwhosefirstprinciplesisthatgovernance
ofallkindsmustbestrict,becauseinthefallenstateofhumankindtheinsolenceofevil
men is so great, their wickedness so stubborn, that it can scarcely be restrained by
extremelyseverelaws.55(Schmitt,similarly,arguedinTheConceptofthePolitical
[1927] that any adequate political theory must acknowledge human wickedness and
corruptionassodeeplyingrainedthatastrongstateisneededtoimposeorder,sternly
distinguishingbetweenfriendandenemy,bothinternalandexternal.)56
Calvin, for whom the absolute and unconditioned nature of Gods sovereign
53

ParadiseLost,BookI,line110,p.138.
BlaisePascal,Penses,no.294,inPensesetopuscules,ed.LonBrunschvicg(Paris:Hachette,1961),
p.467:Etainsinepouvantfairequecequiestjusteftfort,onafaitquecequiestfortftjuste.Jacques
DerridacommentsonthisandrelatedpassagesinForceofLaw:TheMysticalFoundationofAuthority,
ActsofReligion,ed.GilAnidjar(NewYorkandLondon:Routledge,2002),pp.23839.
55
JeanCalvin,InstitutesoftheChristianReligion,ed.JohnT.McNeill,trans.FordLewisBattles(2vols.;
Philadelphia:TheWestminsterPress,1960),IV.xx.2,p.1487.(Thepaginationinthetwovolumesofthis
editioniscontinuous;vol.2beginsatIII.xx.1.)
56
Schmitt,DerBegriffdesPolitischen,ArchivfrSozialwissenschaftenundSozialpolitik58(1927);The
ConceptofthePolitical,trans.GeorgeD.Schwab(Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,2007),pp.6068.
54

17
powerisaxiomatic,anticipatesSchmittsDezisionismusinhisclaimthatprovidenceis
lodged in the act57by which he means that will is the primary aspect of this
sovereignty:Godsomnisciencerestsuponthefactthateverythingthatoccurshasalways
alreadybeendetermined,downtotheleastparticleofitsfuturity,byhiswill. 58 This
sovereignpowerexemptsitselffromanyconstraintbyitsownlaws,andalsosinceits
hidden determinations are said to be incomprehensible to human mindsfrom any
possiblecriticismofdeviationsfromthoselaws.
Calvin, though a theocrat, is in some respects less willing than Schmitt to
theologizepolitics.HeregardsChristsspiritualKingdomandtheciviljurisdictionas
things completely distinct.59 And while preaching obedience to the civil power, as
divinelyordainedandevenextendingGodssovereignexceptiontohumanrulers 60he
provides an opening for resistance to tyranny by noting constitutions in which the
magistracyincludesofficials(theSpartanephors,Atheniandemarchs,Romantribunes,or
parliamentsofhisowntime)appointedbythepeopletorestrainthewillfulnessoftheir
rulers.61
Buttheimportant parallelbetweenCalvinstheologyandSchmitts politische
Theologie residesinthefactthatbothareantitheticaltoanycoherentnotionofjustice.
Although the title of his major work (Institutio Christianae religionis in the original
Latin) repeats that of the Institutiones, the first part of the fourpart codification of
Roman law attributed to the sixthcentury emperor Justinian, 62 Calvins thought is
57

Calvin,Institutes,I.xvi.4,p.202.
SeeInstitutes,III.xxiii.6,p.954:heforeseesfutureeventsonlybyreasonofthefactthathedecreed
thattheytakeplace;andalsoIII.xxiii.7,p.955,whereCalvin,whohaselsewhererepeatedlyblamed
humankindswickednessandnaturaltendencytohateGodupontheprimalactofdisobedienceinthe
GardenofEden,asks:whencedoesithappenthatAdamsfallirremediablyinvolvedsomanypeoples,
togetherwiththeirinfantoffspring,ineternaldeathunlessbecauseitsopleasedGod?[.]Thedecreeis
dreadfulindeed,Iconfess.YetnomancandenythatGodforeknewwhatendmanwastohavebeforehe
createdhim,andconsequentlyforeknewbecausehesoordainedbyhisdecree.
59
Institutes,IV.xx.1,p.1486.
60
InInstitutes,IV.xx.10,p.1497,CalvinclaimsthatsincenorestraintislaidonGodsjusticeinpunishing
misdeeds,magistratesareentitledtoviolatethedivinelawagainstkilling:ifitisnotrighttoimposeany
lawonhim,whyshouldwetrytoreproachhisministers?
61
Institutes,IV.xx.31,p.1519.
62
TheLatinwordinstitutiohasarangeofmeaningsrelatingtodisposition,arrangement,instruction,
education,andestablishedcustom;JustiniansInstitutionesisamanualdesignedtointroducestudentsto
thefullbodyofthelaw,theCorpusJuris.
58

18
foundationallyequivocal:itsprimaryterm,subsumingallothercategoriesandagencies,
is a sovereign divine will whose attributesamong them mercy or justiceare
incommensurable with any merely human understandings of these words. That same
sovereignwillfrustratesanyrecognitionoflawsandordersofcausalityoperatingwithin
nature,forCalvinascribesevensuchregularitiesasthesunsdailyrisingandthefactthat
ourfoodbecomesnourishmenttosingularandrepeatedactsofdivinewill. 63Asforthe
LawofMoses,orfornaturallaw(understoodbymanytheologiansasasystemof
ethicalinjunctionsimplantedwithinnaturebyabeneficentcreator):theirfunction,in
Calvinsview,issimplycondemnatorytorenderusinexcusable.64
The result is what the nineteenthcentury historian W. E. H. Lecky called
religiousterrorism.65CalvinunderstoodthePaulinedoctrineofelectiontosalvationas
necessarilyimplyingaparallelreprobationofthenonelectwhoarethuschosenfrom
alleternityfordamnation.66 Complaints againsttheinjusticeofasentenceofendless
torturepassedupontheunbornreceiveanansweratonceprolepticandadhominem.By
theendoftheirlives,thereprobatewillhavedeserveddamnation,becausetheywillhave
failedtoobeythecommandmentstoloveandhavefaithinGod(actspossibleonlyfor
thosewhohavereceived thearbitrarygiftofdivinegrace.) 67 Andquestioningdivine
justiceshowsunregeneratehostilitytoGodasignthatthequestionermayhavebeen
chosenbyGodshiddenwillforeverlastingtorment. 68 Calvinindeedbelongsamong
thosewho,asLeckywrote,intheperiodculminatinginthesixteenthcenturydiffused
throughout Christendom a religious terror which gradually overcast the horizon of
thought.69
IfCalvinputshimselfatoddswithjusticethroughhisclaimthatGodswillisso
muchthehighestruleofrighteousnessthatwhateverhewills,bytheveryfactthathe
63

Institutes,I.xvi.2,p.199;I.xvi.7,p.206.
Institutes,I.vi.1415,pp.6869;II.vii.3,p.351;II.vii.7,pp.35556;II.viii.12,p.377.
65
W.E.H.Lecky,HistoryoftheRiseandInfluenceoftheSpiritofRationalisminEurope(2vols.;1865,
rpt.NewYork:Appleton,1888),vol.1,pp.3738,7882.
66
Institutes,III.xxi.5,p.926;III.xxi.7,p.931;III.xxii.2,p.934;III.xxiii.1,pp.94748.
67
Institutes,III.xxiii.11,p.959;III.xxiv.14,p.981.
68
Institutes,III.xxiii.2,pp.94950.
69
Ibid.,vol.1,p.81.
64

19
willsit,mustbeconsideredrighteous,70Schmittdoeslikewisethroughhiscontributions
totheNazidoctrinethattheFhrerswordshavetheforceoflaw. 71Onemighttherefore
askwhySchmittsideologyofthesovereignexceptionshouldbeunderstood,anymore
thanCalvins,asprovidingleverageforageneralizedcritiqueoflaw.
LikeFranzKafkashauntingparableVordemGesetz(BeforetheLaw),and
thenightmarishnovel,TheTrial,inwhichthatparablerecurs,theymayindeedprovide
matter for critical reflection on the systems of law that we actually have. 72 But one
defining feature of any genuinely democratic system of law and any genuinely
democraticjurisprudencemustbethattheydonotgrantexceptionstothepowerful.
Itiseasyenoughtoseewhysystemsofpurportedjusticeandequitywhichinfact
defend invidious disparities of property, class, gender, and race should incorporate
notionsoflegalityinwhich,eithermythicallyorinsecularizedterms,afoundational
spaceisreservedfortheexerciseofstatepowerunfetteredbylegality.Butwhileactual
historicalpolitiesmayundergoclearlydemarcatedprocessesofchange,someofthem
convulsive,theydonotmoveinthemannerimaginedbySchmittfromapriorstateof
chaostooneofforciblyestablishedjuridicalorder.Allhumansocietieshavestructuresof
customarylaw(nomos),andwhiletheethnocentricityandracismofliteratepeoplemay
leadthemtoscornoralcodificationsoflawsuchastheKaianerehko:wa(GreatLaw)of
theHaudenosauneeorSixNations,whichworkthroughvariouscombinationsofformal
recitation,mythicnarration,andcustomarypractices,thosestructureshavecomplexities
adequate,inmostcases,tothesituationsforwhichtheyweredeveloped. 73 Whilethey
mayencodepatternsofinequityandviolence,theyalsotypicallyorganizethesharing
out,protection,andpreservationofcommonlandandresources.74Therecaninanyevent
70

Institutes,III.xxiii.2,p.949.
Agamben,HomoSacer,p.184.
72
See,forexample,JacquesDerrida,BeforetheLaw,inActsofLiterature,ed.DerekAttridge(New
YorkandLondon:Routledge,1992),pp.181220.
73
ForabriefdiscussionofcollisionsbetweenorallawandthelegalcoerciveapparatusoftheCanadian
state,seethelastsectionofmyessayTheHarperGovernmentandWaronTerrorImmigrationPolicy,
inHartmutLutz,ed.,WhatIsYourPlace:IndigeneityandImmigrationinCanada(Augsburg:Winer
Verlag,2007),pp.16990.
74
IhavetouchedonthisissueintheconcludingpagesofmyessayResistingthePostNational:Canadian
CritiquesoftheGeo/CulturalPoliticsofGlobalization,inGunillaFlorby,MarkShackleton,andKatri
Suhonen,eds.,Canada:ImagesofaPost/NationalSociety(FrankfurtandNewYork:PeterLang,2009),
71

20
benojustificationfordismissingthemasanomicorchaotic.
Why,then,acceptaviolentlyobscurantistoriginmyth,orconfineoneselftoa
juristicrhetoricthateffacesbothhistoricalrealitiesandthepossibilityofemancipatory
transformationsunless (as one may suspect is the case with Schmitt) that is the
unacknowledgedaimoftheexercise?

6
After 9/11, everything changed: a tedious clich. There has in fact been a
remarkable degree of continuity in many aspects of the behaviour of the American
empire, ranging from torture to what neoconservative journalist Jonah Goldberg
approvingly called the Ledeen Doctrine: Every ten years orso,the United States
needstopickupsomesmallcrappylittlecountryandthrowitagainstthewall,justto
showtheworldwemeanbusiness.75 Therhythmofthisstateterroristicviolencemay
haveacceleratedsincetheearly1990swhenMichaelLedeenentertainedanaudienceat
theAmericanEnterpriseInstitutewiththeseorsimilarwords, 76 butthecoupsagainst
democraticallyelectedbutinsufficientlysubservientgovernmentsinVenezuela(2002),
Haiti(2004),andHonduras(2009)nottomentionmilitaryinterventionsinPanama,
Somalia, Colombia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and Libyahave
followedlongestablishedpatterns.
Andyettherehavebeenverysignificantchanges.NoneofGeorgeW.Bushs
predecessorspubliclyechoedSchmittiandecisionisminthesamemanner.Andbeyond
themererhetoricliesadismayingreality:Bushdeclaredastateofemergencyon9/11,
whichwasformallyproclaimedthreedayslater,andhasremainedineffecteversince; 77
pp.3954.
75
JonahGoldberg,BaghdadDelendaEst,PartTwo,NationalReviewOnline(23April2002),
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/205187/baghdaddelendaestparttwo/jonahgoldberg.
76
GoldbergrememberedLedeen,aninfluentialrightwingideologue,outliningthisdoctrineinmoreor
lessthesewordsinaspeechattheAEIintheearly1990s.
77
Forthemostrecentextensionofthestateofemergency,seeLetterfromthePresidentonthe
ContinuationoftheNationalEmergencywithRespecttoCertainTerroristAttacks,TheWhiteHouse/
PresidentBarackObama(10September2010),http://www.whitehouse.gov/thepress

21
and at the same time his administration took the overlapping step of implementing
continuity of government measures,78 which have likewise apparently not been
rescinded.
Continuity of government, as Peter Dale Scott has noted, is an innocent
sounding but misleading term. Planning carried out under this name since the early
1980s, which was initially intended to ensure that the executive powers of the U.S.
governmentwouldbeabletosurviveanuclearattack,morphedquicklyintoorganizing
forastateofexceptioninwhichconstitutionalgovernmentwouldbesuspended.Not
merelywasitsplanningcarriedforwardunderconditionsofdubiouslegalityDonald
RumsfeldandDickCheney,whowerecentralfiguresinthisplanningduringtheReagan
andGeorgeH.W.Bushadministrations,continuedtobeinvolvedinitduringtheClinton
years,despitebeingoutofpublicofficebutcontinuityofgovernmenthascometomean
thesupplantingofrepresentativedemocracyandconstitutionallawbywhatisineffecta
militarydictatorship.79
Undercontinuityofgovernment,theinstitutionsoftheAmericanrepublicremain
inplace(aswasthecaseinRometwomillenniaago,whentheRomanrepublicdeclined
into an imperial autocracy). But power has shifted decisively into the hands of an
executivemilitarysecurityapparatuscomplex,someatleastofwhosedomesticdecisions
areimplementedbytheshadowgovernmentbroughtintobeingafter9/11.80
Even without knowing of or recognizing the implications of continuity of
government protocols, commentators on post9/11 American domestic and foreign
policies have accurately summed up what has occurred. Gore Vidal, for example,
office/2010/09/10/letterpresidentcontinuationnationalemergencywithrespectcertainte.
78
The9/11CommissionReport:FinalReportoftheNationalCommissiononTerroristAttacksuponthe
UnitedStates(NewYork:Norton,2004),p.38;seealsop.326:Contingencyplansforthecontinuityof
governmentandtheevacuationofleadershadbeenimplemented.
79
SeePeterDaleScott,TheRoadto9/11,pp.183245,foradetailedaccountoftheevolutionof
continuityofgovernmentplanning,anditsimplementationafter9/11.
80
BartonGellmanandSusanSchmidt,ShadowGovernmentIsatWorkinSecret,TheWashingtonPost
(1March2002),http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp
dyn/content/article/2006/06/09/AR2006060900891.html,quoteoneparticipantassayingthattheshadow
governmenthasevolvedintoanindefiniteprecaution,andnotethatOnlytheexecutivebranchis
representedinthefulltimeshadowadministration.SeealsoFrancieGrace,ShadowGovernmentNews
toCongress,CBSNews(1March2002),
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/03/01/attack/main502530.shtml.

22
remarkedin2002thatitdoesseemfairlyplaintomanycivillibertariansthat9/11put
paidnotonlytoourfragileBillofRights,butalsotoouronceenviedrepublicansystem
ofgovernment.81In2007,BarbaraOlshanskywrotethat
postSeptember11Americaisacountrygovernedbypoliticianswho
seekuncheckedpowertopursuetheirglobalwaronterrorandwho
expressachillingdisregardforhumanrightsandtheruleoflawinthat
pursuit.[.]Inthenameofsubduing[fearofoutsideforces],wehave
given the executive branch free rein to adopt secret policies that
disregardtheseparationofpowersprincipleandweakenoursystemof
checksandbalances.Initspursuitofunfetteredexecutivepower,the
Bush administration runs roughshod over the constitutional
foundationsofourdemocracy.82
Manyaspectsoftheimplantingofauthoritariangovernancedoindeedappearto
havebeencarriedoutinsecretbytheBushregime.StevenAftergood,writingonbehalf
of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy, noted in
February2008that
Of the 54 National Security Presidential Directives issued by the
[GeorgeW.]Bushadministrationtodate,thetitlesofonlyabouthalf
havebeenpubliclyidentified.Thereisdescriptivematerialoractual
textinthepublicdomainforonlyaboutathird.Inotherwords,there
are dozens of undisclosed Presidential directives that define U.S.
national security policy and task government agencies, but whose
substanceisunknowneithertothepublicor,asarule,toCongress.83
However,thesupplantingofconstitutionalgovernmentbyanunconstrainedsovereign
81

GoreVidal,DreamingWar,p.11.Vidaladdsthattherepublicansystemofgovernmenthadtakena
mortalblowthepreviousyear,whentheSupremeCourtdidalittledancein54timeandreplacedan
electedpresidentwiththeoilandgasCheneyBushjunta(p.12).
82
BarbaraOlshansky,DemocracyDetained:SecretUnconstitutionalPracticesintheU.S.WaronTerror
(NewYork:SevenStoriesPress,2007),pp.12.
83
StevenAftergood,ThenextpresidentshouldopenuptheBushadministrationsrecord,Nieman
Watchdog(7February2008),http://niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?
fuseaction=ask_this.view&askthisid=00321.(IamindebtedforthisreferencetoInvestigationinto
WhetherAmericaisStillaConstitutionalGovernment,http://constitutionally.blogspot.com.)

23
powerrulinginastateofexceptionhasnotbeenentirelysecretiveorlawless:ithasalso
been a matter of Congressionallyapproved bad law driving out good. As John W.
Whiteheadwrites,theUSAPATRIOTAct
hasdrivenastakethroughtheheartoftheBillofRights,violatingat
least six of the ten original amendmentsthe First, Fourth, Fifth,
Sixth,SeventhandEighthAmendmentsandpossiblytheThirteenth
and Fourteenth Amendments, as well. The Patriot Act has also
redefined terrorism so broadly that many nonterrorist political
activities such as protest marches, demonstrations and civil
disobedienceareconsideredpotentialterroristacts[].84
There appears to have been an ongoing implementation of continuity of
government measures,85 whose effects seem unmistakable. Barbara Olshansky quotes
fromtheU.S.SupremeCourtsjudgmentinHamdiv.Rumsfeld(2004):
Wehavelongsincemadeclearthatastateofwarisnotablankcheck
forthePresidentwhenitcomestotherightsoftheNationscitizens.
Whatever power the United States Constitution envisions for the
Executive in its exchanges with other nations or with enemy
organizationsintimesofconflict,itmostassuredlyenvisionsarolefor
allthreebrancheswhenindividuallibertiesareatstake.
ButDespitetheSupremeCourtsrulings,Olshanskycomments,theadministration
hasstubbornlyandpurposefullyrefusedtodeviatefromitsitineraryofoperatingoutside
theruleoflaw.86(ThereissomeironytotheSupremeCourtbeingtreatedwithcontempt
bytheregimeitinstalledthroughthestunninglylawlessBushv.Goredecision.)
84

JohnW.Whitehead,Aweekinthelifeofapolicestate,ColdType57(JuneJuly2011),p.50,
http://www.coldtype.net/Assets.11/pdfs/0611.CT57.pdf.ItshouldberememberedthatthePatriotActwas
passedundertheduressofanthraxattacksontheofficesoftheDemocraticPartyscongressionalleadership
attackswhich,giventheimplausibilityoftheFBIslonemadscientistscenario,inviteclassificationas
instancesofstateterrorismorstatecrimesagainstdemocracy.
85
Forevidencethattheprocessisindeedongoing,seePeterDaleScott,ContinuityofGovernment
Planning:War,TerrorandtheSupplantingoftheU.S.Constitution,TheAsiaPacificJournal,21210(24
May2010),http://japanfocus.org/Peter_DaleScott/3362;andIstheStateofEmergencySupersedingthe
USConstitution?ContinuityofGovernmentPlanning,WarandAmericanSociety,TheAsiaPacific
Journal,48110(29November2010),http://japanfocus.org/Peter_DaleScott/3448.
86
Olshansky,DemocracyDetained,pp.45,quotingfromHamdiv.Rumsfeld,542U.S.535(2004).

24
GlennGreenwaldsumsuptheimplicationsofalawlessnessthatappearstohave
engulfedtheAmericanjudiciaryaswellastheexecutivepower:
NotasingleWaronTerrordetaineehasbeenaccordedanyredressin
Americancourtsforthesevereabusestowhichtheyweresubjected
(includinginnocentpeoplebeingdetainedforyears,renderedandeven
tortured),andworse,nodetaineehasbeenallowedbycourtsevento
havetheirclaims heard.AftertheU.S.Governmentimplemented a
worldwideregimeoftorture,lawlessdetention,andotherabuses,the
doorsoftheAmericanjusticesystemhavebeenslammedshutinthe
faceofanyandallvictimsseekingtohavetheirrightsvindicatedor
eventheirclaimsheard.IfanAmericancitizencantevensuepolitical
officialswholawlesslyimprisonandtorturehiminhisowncountry
ifpoliticalleadersarevestedwithimmunityfromaclaimofthistype
what rational person can argue that the rule of law or the
Constitutionbindsourgovernmentofficials?87

7
Inanessaywrittenin2006tojustifytorture,neoconservativejournalistCharles
Krauthammermovesfromthestandardtickingtimebombargumenttothefarfrom
hypotheticalcaseofKhalidSheikhMohammed:
Henotonlywasthearchitectofthe9/11attackthatkillednearlythree
thousandpeopleinoneday,mostofthemdyingaterrible,agonizing,
indeedtortureddeath.ButasthetopalQaedaplannerandlogistical
experthealsoknowsalotaboutterrorattacks tocome.Heknows
87

GlennGreenwald,U.S.justicev.theworld,Salon.com(18February2011),
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/02/18/justice/index.html.Forevidencethat
thesefactsshouldbeunderstoodwithinthecontextofanongoingdismantlingofinternationallaw,see
PhilippeSands,LawlessWorld:MakingandBreakingGlobalRules(2nded.,London:Penguin,2006);and
AfuaHirsch,Ministersmovetochangeuniversaljurisdictionlaw,TheGuardian(30May2010),
http://www.guardian.co.uk/2010/may/30/changeuniversaljurisdictionlaw.

25
plans,identities,contacts,materials,celllocations,safehouses,cased
targets,etc.Whatwouldyoudowithhim?
Krauthammerproposesthatitwouldbeagrossderelictionofdutyifanygovernment
that held this man a prisoner failed to torture him, 88 using measures of a level of
inhumanity[]proportionaltotheneedandvalueoftheinformation.89
One rhetorical peculiarity of these maneuvers may escape the casual reader.
Krauthammer has put the question of what to do with this prisoner into the present
conditional tenseand yet everything he knows about him stems from the fact that
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had already been subjected to grueling tortures, the
intelligencefromwhichhadbeenuncriticallyincorporatedintothe 9/11Commission
Reportatextthat,twoyearslater,Krauthammerhasevidentlyread.Hispresenttense
elidesthisepistemicloop,andwithitthefactthatheisusingintelligencederivedfrom
torturingKSMtojustifytorturingKSMinsearch,presumably,ofsomethinglikethe
implausibleconfessionstoterroristventuresofallkinds,realandimaginary(includinga
planned operation against a Washington state bank that wasnt built until long after
KSMs arrest), that would be entered into evidence in the 2006 trial of the putative
twentiethhijacker,Zacharias Moussaoui,90 andwouldreappearin2007inajudicial
reviewofKSMscombatantstatusbyaGuantnamomilitarytribunal.91
88

CharlesKrauthammer,TheTruthaboutTorture,inLevinson,ed.,Torture,pp.30910.Krauthammer
triestofudgetheissue,speakingfirstofkeepingtheprisonerisolated,disoriented,alone,despairing,cold
andsleepless,insomegodforsakenhiddenlocation,andthensubstitutingthetermcoercive
interrogation(p.310).Hemeanstorture.
89
Ibid.,p.313.Theinformationinthiscasewouldbehighvalueandurgentlyneeded,whichwould
presumablyjustifyextremeinhumanity.
90
SeeDavidRayGriffin,TheNewPearlHarborRevisited:9/11,theCoverUp,andtheExpos
(Northampton,MA:OliveBranchPress,2008),pp.21617.
91
VerbatimTranscriptofCombatantStatusReviewTribunalHearingforISN10024(10March2007),
availableonlineathttp://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/images/03/14/transcript_ISN10024.pdf.This26page
documentprovidesaninterestingglimpseofthenormalizingoftortureinU.S.militaryjustice.Thetext
givesnoindicationofthecontentsofawrittenstatementsuppliedtothetribunalbyKSMregarding
allegedabuse(p.7).Askedbythepresidingofficerwhetherstatementshemadetohisinterrogators
between2003and2006weremadeastheresultofanyofthetreatmentyoureceivedduringthattime
frame,KSMreplies:CIApeoples.Yes.Rewordingthequestionabouttorture,thepresidingofficer
receivesasecondresponse(partiallycensored)thatissuggestiveofmentalconfusion,anddropstheissue
(pp.1415).Thedocumentthenincorporatesaconfessionstatement(pp.1719)inwhichKSMadmits
directresponsibilityforeveryactual,projected,ormerelyrumoredoperationeverassociatedwithalQaeda
includingaplannedattackonthePlazaBankinWashingtonstate,builtthreeyearsafterKSMscapture,
andothersthatseemwhollyimaginary,suchastheoperationtodestroyHeathrowAirport,theCanary

26
Evenwerewetodiscardtheevidence,alludedtoattheoutset,whichsuggeststhat
therealarchitectsof9/11werepeoplehighlyplacedwithintheAmericanstate,thefact
remainsthatKrauthammersrhetoricmirrorsthetacticsusedby16thcenturyapologistsof
witchpersecutionswho knew that suspected witches must be tortured to reveal
evidence of their wicked conspiracies with Satan, because witchhunters already had
copiousevidence,derivedfromthetortureofsuspectedwitches,ofthehorrifyingreality
anddestructivepowerofthatSatanicalliance.92
Weencounterinthisexampleastructurethathasalreadyrecurredthroughoutthis
essayinwhichaviolenceexercisedbysovereignpowerthatexemptsitselffromthe
constraintsoflegality(inthiscase,theconstraintsofexistingU.S.andinternationallaw)
isrepresented,whetherdiscursivelyormythically,astheenablingconditionofpublic
orderandsafety.
InMiltonsParadiseLost,thecreationofhellprecedesthatofheavenandearth;
inCalvinstheology,thejudgmentbyasovereignwillthatallofhumanity(thankstothe
divinelywilledfallofourfirstparents)deservesthetormentsofhellisconceptuallyprior
to the arbitrary grace which partially reverses that judgment by creating an ordered
communityoffaith;andinSchmittspoliticaltheologytheprimaryattributeoftheorder
imposingsovereignpowerisitscapacity,atitsownwhim,tosuspendtheworkingsof
lawinordertoexerciseunconstrainedviolence.
9/11complicatesthisstructure.Accordingtotheorthodoxpoliticaltheologyof
9/11,anationthatalreadyapproachedperfectioninitsdevotiontolibertywasattacked,
becauseofitsverygoodness,byforcesofevil;aglovesoffordarksidesuspensionof
legalityinaglobalwaronterrorhasbeenrequiredtofendoffthoseforcesanddefend
liberty.Yetaswehaveseen,aprimarymotiveoftheresorttothedarksidewasto
generatefraudulenttorturebasedintelligencethatwouldsupportthisorthodoxfiction.
Intheverydifferentstorytowhichotheruntaintedevidencepoints,thedark
sideisnotjustincidental,amatterofeviltacticsusedagainstthepowersofevil:itis,
rather, the arche and the telos of 9/11, the events starting point and its goal. The
WharfBuilding,andBigBenonBritishsoil(p.18).
92
Forakeyexampleofthistactic,seeJeanBodin,Deladmonomaniedessorciers(Paris:Jacquesdu
Puys,1580).Bodinwasapoliticalphilosopherofmajorstatureaswellasafanaticalwitchhunter.

27
hijackingattackswerefacilitatedandenabledbyamultifacetedsuspensionofmanyof
thenormalfunctionsofmilitary,intelligence,andcivilian officialswhich,sincethe
functions of these servants of the state are legally mandated, was also an effective
suspensionoflegality.Thegoalappearstohavebeenalastingstateofexceptionin
whichthemilitarizedstate,whilecontinuingtoprojectamythologyinwhichitdefines
itself as the guarantor and protector of an increasingly abstract freedom, in fact
suppresses the limited freedoms announced within the states ownfoundational legal
documents,itsConstitutionandBillofRights.

8
Intheconcludingchapterofhisbook BlackBloc,WhiteRiot,A.K.Thompson
brings together several thinkers whomIwouldalsoliketoconsider(iftosomewhat
differenteffect).93
ThompsonquotesJeanBaudrillardsclaim,in TheSpiritofTerrorism,thatthe
attacksof9/11radicalizedboththeworldsituationandtherelationoftheimageto
reality: Whereas we were dealing before with an uninterrupted profusion of banal
imagesandaseamlessflowofshamevents,theterroristactinNewYorkhasresuscitated
both images and events.94 Observing that Two accounts of epistemic and political
resolutionseemtobeatworkinthisclaimoneinwhichthedisjuncturebetween
signifierandsignifiedisresolvedincatastrophe,sothatthingsandtheirnamesonce
again become inseparable, and another in which the image consumes the event
entirelyThompsonarguesthattheseareinrealityonlytwophasesofasingleprocess
by which the image is reenergized as a modality of representational politics. For,
followingamomentaryshortcircuitintherepresentationalsequence,themeaningof
theterroristactbecomesevident:Itsanactioninexcessofthelawthatservesinthe
93

A.K.Thompson,BlackBloc,WhiteRiot:AntiGlobalizationandtheGenealogyofDissent(Oakland
andEdinburgh:AKPress,2010),pp.15769.
94
JeanBaudrillard,TheSpiritofTerrorism(London:Verso,2002),p.27;quotedbyThompson,p.164.

28
endtoreaffirmthelawitself,andtorevitalizeconstitutedpower.95
Amorecautiousreturntotheimagesandeventsof9/11mightsuggestthatthe
crucialshortcircuitonethatisbynomeansmerelymomentaryistobefound,not
in the representational sequence as such, but rather in its implicit causality. The
unforgettablecentralimagesof9/11theimpactsofthetwohijackedaircraft,followed
byimmensedeflagrationsofjetfuel,andtheviolentdisintegrationofthetwintowersinto
pyroclasticdustcloudsthatenvelopedmostoflowerManhattanappearedtoviewersof
thatappallingspectacletoconstituteacausalsequence:fromimpact,tobuildingfires,to
collapse.Butthatimpressionofcausality(togetherwithNISTsshabbyattemptstogive
itscientificcredibility)isrefutedbytheevidenceIcitedinthefirstpartofthisessay,
whichrevealsboththeinsufficiencyofimpactdamageandtheensuingfirestoproduce
theobservedeffects,andalsothepresenceofotherinterveningcauses.
ThompsonnotesinpassingGuyDebordsview,expressedinhisCommentaires
sur la socit du spectacle (1988), that the state itself invented terrorism as its
representationalnegation,theenemythatconfirmsit.96Inrejectingthefalsecausalityof
thespectacleof9/11,wecanpermitourselvestociteDebordatgreaterlength.Sucha
perfectdemocracy,hewrotewithacidirony,
constructs its own inconceivable foe, terrorism. Its wish is to be
judgedbyitsenemiesratherthanbyitsresults.Thestoryofterrorism
is written by the state and it is therefore highly instructive. The
spectatorsmustcertainlyneverknoweverythingaboutterrorism,but
theymustalwaysknowenoughtoconvincethemthat,comparedwith
terrorism, everything else must be acceptable, orin any case more
rationalanddemocratic.97
ThompsonrefersaswelltothegreatGermancritic,WalterBenjaminbuttoan

95

Ibid.,pp.16465.
Ibid.,p.65.
97
GuyDebord,CommentsontheSocietyoftheSpectacle,trans.MalcolmImrie(London:Verso,1998),p.
24.(Intheprecedingpages,Debordremarksonthescandalousfreedomfromscandal,incontemporary
democracies,ofthetyrannicalventuresofsuchgroupsastheItalianparallelgovernment,P2,Potere
Dueonwhich,seep.22andalsop.53.)
96

29
earlyandunsatisfactoryessay,theCritiqueofViolence.98Morerelevanttomysubject
areremarksfromoneofBenjaminslasttexts,ThesesonthePhilosophyofHistory,
writtenshortlybeforehisdeathin1940:
Thetraditionoftheoppressedteachesusthatthestateofemergency
inwhichweliveisnottheexceptionbuttherule.Wemustattaintoa
conceptionofhistorythatisinkeepingwiththisinsight.Thenweshall
clearly realize that it is our task to bring about a real state of
emergency,andthiswillimproveourpositioninthestruggleagainst
Fascism.99
Butwhatwoulditmean,inapost9/11worldwherelawlessnessandtortureare
being institutionalized, to speak of bringing about a real state of emergency? One
wouldliketohopethatthefatuousBaudrillardiangameofpretendingtoresistcapitalism
by acceding to its demands to spend oneself silly has been abandoned; the folly of
playingtothestrengthofthosewhohavelongsincepossessedaneffectivemonopolyon
violence, whether legal or extralegal, should be no less apparent. Is Benjamin here
participatinginatendencytoidealizeandaestheticizeviolencethatLuigiFabbrihad
analyzed and stringently criticized in his 1917 essay, Bourgeois Influences on
Anarchism? Violence,Fabbriacknowledges,maybeunavoidable, butheobjects on
ethicalgroundstoanyglamorizingbybourgeoiswritersofitsintrinsicugliness,andon
politicalandphilosophicalgroundstotheresultingdisplacementofattentionfromgoals
toactions.100
98

Datingfromtheearly1920s,thisessayisdisabledbytwofacts:itwascomposedinsilentdialoguewith
earlytextsofCarlSchmitt,someofwhosepreconceptionsitaccepts;anditconfusesthecentralissueby
definingstrikeactionasincorporatingextortionandtheuseofforceinattainingcertainends,and
henceasaformofviolence.SeeWalterBenjamin,Reflections:Essays,Aphorisms,Autobiographical
Writings,ed.PeterDemetz,trans.EdmundJephcott(NewYork:SchockenBooks,1986),p.282.
99
Benjamin,ThesesonthePhilosophyofHistory,VIII,inIlluminations,ed.HannahArendt,trans.
HarryZohn(1970;rpt.London:Fontana,1973),pp.24849.ThistextisalsoavailableasOntheConcept
ofHistory,inBenjamin,SelectedWritings,ed.MichaelW.Jenningsetal.(4vols.;Cambridge,MA:
HarvardUniversityPress,19962003),vol.4.Onemightprefer,inthepresentcontext,tospeakofa
struggleagainstprotofascism,whichisdiagnosedbyHenryGirouxinAgainsttheNew
Authoritarianism(Winnipeg:ArbeiterRingPublishing,2005),pp.3082.
100
Fabbriwritesthatliteraryposeurs[]offendfallenanarchistseveninpraisingthem,becausetheir
eulogiesdrawtheirforceandmotivepreciselyfromthatwhich,accordingtoanarchistprinciples,ispainful
anddeplorablethoughperhapsahistoricalnecessity.WhilerejectingTolstoyanpacifism,Fabbriinsists
thatviolenceisalwaysanuglything,beitindividualorcollective,assertingatthesametimethatthe

30
Or can we perhaps give Benjamin credit for an irony analogous to that of
Debordsperfectdemocracy?Mightitnotbearealemergencyfortheadvocatesofa
stateofexceptiontofindthemselvesconfrontedbyagrowingnonviolentandegalitarian
movementforradicaldemocracy,callingnotjustforafullrestorationofpriorrightsand
freedoms,butfortheimplementationofanongoingprojecttowhich,morethanthreeand
ahalfcenturiesago,theDiggeractivistGerrardWinstanleygavetheresonantnameof
thelawoffreedom?101

subjectdistractsusfromsomethingmoreimportant:Butwerenotdealingwiththis,butwiththe
tendency,derivedfrombourgeoisinfluences,ofignoringgoalsandmakingactionstheprimordial
preoccupation.Fabbri,BourgeoisInfluencesonAnarchism,trans.ChazBufe,anarkismo.net(25
September2009),http://www.anarkismo.net/article/14544.
101
GerrardWinstanley,TheLawofFreedominaPlatformor,TrueMagistracyRestored[1652],ed.
RobertW.Kenny(NewYork:SchockenBooks,1973).