Introduction: Labors of Hercules without end in sight -- Reflections upon the 11 September attacks and "pre-emptive" war in Iraq -- The roots of American neo-conservatism : neo-timocrats or moralizing politicians? -- The question of state and anti-state "terrorism" : who is terrorizing whom? -- The risks of nuclear proliferation -- Manipulating US global power : Pakistan, "war on terrorism" and strategic leveraging -- The global ramifications of American military expansionism -- "Clash of democracies"? or new global concert? -- Transcending the international disequilibrium.