When American president Barack Obama stood in the White House last week to announce solemnly the death of Osama bin Laden, there was one word that peppered his speech: “nation”. Little surprise there, you might think. The events of 9/11 were widely perceived by Americans to be an attack on their “nation”, which duly forced that “nation” to pull together. And last week’s dramatic killing rallied the “nation” once again – albeit this time in celebration. Or as Obama declared: “On September 11 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together … we were also united in our resolve to protect our nation.”