Two Decades After 9/11: A conversation with Philip Zelikow

************************************************ Catastrophic Terrorism Tackling the New Danger By Ashton B. Carter, John Deutch, and Philip Zelikow November/December 1998 IMAGINING THE TRANSFORMING EVENT Terrorism is not a new phenomenon. But today's terrorists, be they international cults like Aum Shinrikyo or individual nihilists like the Unabomber, act on a greater variety of motives than ever before. More ominously, terrorists may gain access to weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear devices, germ dispensers, poison gas weapons, and even computer viruses. Also new is the world's dependence on a nearly invisible and fragile network for distributing energy and information. Long part of the Hollywood and Tom Clancy repertory of nightmarish scenarios, catastrophic terrorism has moved from far-fetched horror to a contingency that