We had gathered at the venerable University Philosophical Society of Trinity College, Dublin to debate the resolution: “This house believes that George W. Bush is a danger to world stability.” But those tasked with defending the resolution were disinclined even to discuss what they clearly considered gross understatement. Instead, Patrick Cockburn, a British journalist, began by angrily accusing the United States of embarking upon an “old-fashioned imperial war' in Iraq and beyond. As for terrorism, that he dismissed as “something people believe in like they believe in witchcraft. What does it mean?” Though he was unsure of terrorism's definition, he...