But in the heart of the Illinois cornfields, at Jim's steakhouse in Bloomington, diners cheered the President and launched into a round of patriotic songs. There is a slice of America that gets high on war and danger; it may be heresy to say so, but America enjoys a perceived state of siege.

The anchors and reporters talk endlessly to each other, and rarely to anyone else. On minority radio stations, such as Washington DC's CSPAN, elderly ladies voiced their concerns quietly - about how the war offended their Christian faith and the doctrine of St Thomas Aquinas. 'Oops, I'm sorry,' said the host, taking calls to a Washington Post reporter, 'we had two in a row there opposing the war. We don't like that kind of imbalance, very sorry there.'

For American Muslims, this was an uneasy time. Reported attacks on Muslims and Islamic targets increased, with particular damage to a mosque in upstate New York.

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz's brother is serving in the Air Force, leaving Shabazz of Springfield to advise him: 'Keep your head down, and your mouth shut, and you'll be all right.' But the FBI is to interrogate tens of thousands of Iraqis living in America - 25,000 in San Diego alone - under an order from the Justice Department, ostensibly in search of information that may help the military campaign and prevent Iraq-backed terrorism.

But, said Victor Marshall, back in New York and come to pay his respects at Ground Zero, where it all began: 'It's very scary. I can't imagine what the people are feeling in Baghdad. Perhaps it's like what we felt here.'

Guardian Unlimited