9781422280249

J ust as Americans were feeling most vulnerable in the aftermath of the terrorist out- rages of September 11, 2001, a series of anthrax attacks compounded public fears. This threat was peculiarly disturbing, in part because it acted invisibly (and all but undetectably) against the human body, but also because it attacked through the most everyday routines of American life. A bomb or a rocket attack not only involves an identifiable enemy, it is also a dramatic ex- ception to the peaceful, orderly rule. But what could be more commonplace than opening a let- ter? What could be more normal than the U.S. Postal Service? The special horror of September 11, 2001, stemmed from the way in which terrorists turned everyday activities, such as going to work or traveling by plane, into opportunities for death and destruction. Whoever was responsible for sending anthrax spores through the mail was clearly bent on producing the same effect, attempting to shatter the peace of American home and business life. Their capacity to create panic and demoralization out of all proportion to their actual effects is perhaps the most dangerous aspect of biological or chemical weapons. An Ancient Anxiety History is punctuated by momentous plagues —one marked the passing of the Golden Age of Athens in the fourth century BCE, for example. Similarly, the Book of Exodus describes the Ten Plagues of Egypt, sent to afflict the realm of the cruel Pharaoh. It is possible that the God of the Israelites moved in less mysterious ways than is normally assumed, attacking the Egyptians with

Words to Understand Spores: Cell made by some plants that is like a seed and can produce a new plant. Plague: Disease that causes death and spreads quickly to large numbers of people. Microbe: Extremely small living thing that can only be seen with a microscope.

P rotecting against B iological and C hemical A ttack

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