Bioterrorism

The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention entirely prohibits biological warfare, but it has no effective verification mechanism to ensure that the 140-plus States Parties are living up to their obligations. From 1995-2001 the States Parties attempted to negotiate a Protocol to the Convention to remedy this deficiency. On 25 July 2001 the United States entirely rejected the final text which would probably have been acceptable to most other states. The book investigates how this disaster came about, and the potential consequences of the failure of American leadership.

Superterrorism -- heinous and violent acts aimed at causing massive death and destruction -- poses the greatest threat to life as we know it. Schweitzer publicizes for the first time the volatile mix created when religious and other zealots join forces with mobsters. He warns that the tried and true routes for smuggling drugs and arms may become highways for contraband nuclear, chemical, and biological materials that could lead to the kind of catastrophe Americans have never known. He also exposes the unholy emerging alliances between American dissidents and international terrorists. Are we prepared for an attack on American soil? Schweitzer provides a shocking answer, but also suggests steps to prevent the worst from happening. Reading like a novel, this startling book not only drives home the most dire threats that confront us, but provides answers on how to repel the clutches of the superterrorist threat.

In his most recent State of the Union Address, President Bush called upon Congress to enact legislation that would extend the time-limited provisions of the controversial anti-terror law known as the Patriot Act (they are scheduled to expire on December 31st, 2005). Championed by Attorney General John Ashcroft and approved by Congress in the fearful aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Patriot Act has been cast by its critics as the greatest threat to our civil liberties since the Alien and Sedition Acts or the suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War. Yet, as Amitai Etzioni argues, 'any reasonable deliberation about our national security is the recognition that we face two profound commitments: protecting our homeland and safeguarding our rights.' In this short book, Etzioni, the well-known and respected public intellectual and communitarian thinker, charts a middle course, or third way 'between those who are committed to shore up our liberties but blind to the needs of public security, as well as those who never met a right they are not willing to curtail to give authorities an even freer hand.' This book will prove a useful guide for citizens looking for a thought provoking, well-reasoned and sober analysis of one of the hot button issues of our time.

Assess the vulnerabilities of the agricultural sector and the food chain to a deliberate act of biological terrorism and explores the likely outcome of a successful attack.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, are difficult to refer to in the past tense. The events of that date changed the United States and the entire world to the point that the pre-9/11 period and post-9/11 epoch now have to be understood by completely different parameters. Its editors conceived this book only a few hours after the World Trade Towers had collapsed. It frames 9/11 in terms of fresh insights and new interpretations that will last beyond its immediate timeframe.

How can individuals best prepare themselves against a variety of terrorist attacks?