The attack upon American civilians on September 11, 2001 was devastating. That one attack killed one tenth as many people as we lost during all of years of the Vietnam War. Our government has good evidence that this attack originated with the work of Osama bin Laden. The attack occurred at the World Trade Center as people were going about their work and business. It was coordinated with an attack upon the Pentagon. Two great institutions were struck and we have been led to believe that the government itself would have come under attack had not ordinary Americans aboard the hijacked plane taken matters into their own hands and brought the plane down. We are beginning to absorb the extent of the tragedy in human life, and in national and economic impacts. Our leaders are saying the battle will be a long and costly one. The reality of our situation is beginning to sink in. What is not so readily apparent is why any person would want to create such devastation among innocent civilians.