Disaster via Airmail: The Launching of a Global Reaction Capacity After the 2001 Anthrax Attacks

In 1914, we were caught totally unprepared.In 1940, we were fully prepared-for the First World War.-A member of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Cabinet Office, London. 1 If 9/11 was a failure of imagination, then Katrina was a failure of initiative.It was a failure of leadership.If this is what happens when we have advance warning, we shudder to imagine the consequences when we do not.Four and a half years after 9/11, America is still not ready for prime time.-A Failure of Initiative, U.S. House of Representatives, 2006. 2 In this new century, increasing interdependence among people and organizations is creating a new web of challenges."Unconventional" events-large-scale disasters and disruptions-that evidence the effect of interdependency are becoming the norm.In the past five years alone, the United States has experienced an array of events in this category resulting in dramatic losses and revealing profound vulnerabilities: the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Anthrax attacks, the Enron collapse,