This essay combines clinical vignettes and an edited set of postings on an Internet discussion of the events of September 11 and their aftermath. I raise questions about how a psychoanalytic inquiry coordinates with other ways of understanding terrorism and trauma and about our complex relationships as clinicians, citizens, witnesses, and actors. I consider the movement from shock to reaction to analysis. I try to weave critical analysis and affective processing; I was interested in the difficulty of clinical work in conditions of ongoing uncertainty and shared anxiety. These observations are interspersed with clinical material from experiences in the consulting room and in volunteer work.