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| Author: | Stephen E. Flynn, Ira A. Lipman Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and National Security Studies |
|---|
June 2004
256 pages
ISBN 0060571284
$29.95
Three years after September 11, the United States is still dangerously unprepared to prevent or respond to another attack on its soil. Faced with this threat, the United States should be operating on a wartime footing at home. But despite the many new security precautions that have been proposed, America’s most serious vulnerabilities remain ominously exposed.
The United States still offers its enemies a vast menu of soft targets: water and food supplies; chemical plants; energy grids and pipelines; bridges, tunnels, and ports; and the millions of cargo containers that carry most of the goods U.S. consumers depend on. A leading expert on homeland security, Stephen E. Flynn, says the measures cobbled together to protect these vital systems are hardly fit to deter amateur thieves, vandals, and smugglers, let alone determined terrorists. Worse still, small improvements are often oversold as giant steps forward, lowering the guard of the average citizen and building an unwarranted sense of confidence.
The book describes a frightening scenario of what the next major terrorist attack might look like, revealing the tragic loss of life and economic havoc it would leave in its wake, as well as the seismic political consequences it would have in Washington and across the country. In a new world of heightened risk and fear, America the Vulnerable delivers a timely, forceful message that cannot be ignored.
“If officials in Washington would read just one book, this is it. It should scare us into action.”
—Fareed Zakaria, author, The Future of Freedom
“America the Vulnerable will grip you, intrigue you, frighten you and inspire you. Flynn is a genuine expert.”
—Norman Ornstein, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
“This book had to be written. Flynn's threat scenarios are chillingly persuasive. His urgent prescriptions are compelling.”
—Gary Hart, former U.S. Senator, Cochair, the United States Commission on National Security for the 21st Century
“Stunningly detailed. Unsettling but necessary reading for all Americans deeply concerned about the future security of our nation.”
—Warren Rudman, former U.S. Senator, Cochair, the United States Commission on National Security for the 21st Century
“A critical read for both our political leaders and every American citizen.”
—Jeffrey E. Garten, Dean, Yale School of Management
Read the New York Review of Books review by Gary Hart.
Stephen E. Flynn is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. A retired commander in the U.S. Coast Guard, he served in the White House Military Office in the George W. Bush administration and as a director for global issues on the National Security Council staff during the Bill Clinton administration.
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