Truth consists of moments. And the despot returns when, in the name of that ultimate truth whose itinerary he claims to know, he says to the laggards, that is, to those of us who commit the fatal error of clinging to what has just gone out of date: "Silence! Heed me and obey," or simply "Get moving!"

Today, American public diplomacy, once implemented by an independent and very imperfect agency, is hidden away at the regulations-driven State Department, some would say like a coffin at a funeral home, despite the good intentions of the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

The crucial question is, of course, the interpretation of words. Political radicals do not need to pore over thousands of pages of philosophical text to come to a conclusion on any perceived political malaise.

The "just war" theory essentially seeks to reconcile Jesus Christ's turn-the-other-cheek principle with the secular need of nations to wage war.