As this book is written, civil war and insurgency inflame Iraq; Palestinians and Israelis unrelentingly clash; and genocide perpetuates in Darfur. With time, other and perhaps worse conflicts will come to the fore. Eventually, some combatant or fanatic will choose to raise the stakes by using a weapon that altogether multiplies casualties. Just as planes flying into towers on 9/11 instantly became an historical marker dividing strategic perspectives before from after, that day will herald the onslaught of disease as an instrument of malevolence, profoundly changing everything.

Today, leaders proclaim that they are doing everything possible to meet this threat. Following a truly catastrophic act of bioviolence, they will likely tell the public that they had no idea where, when, or how a bioattack would occur – if they had known, they would of course have dedicated all their prodigious powers to thwart it. And the evil perpetrators of this horrible crime surely will be caught and punished.

These proclamations are disingenuous and these avowals will be half-truths, deluding all of us about where security may be found and how to get there – not so much a deliberate lie but a mirage grounded on little more than a wish and a prayer. The more complete truth is that little is being done to prevent bioviolence; if catastrophe occurs, leaders must be held responsible for willful disregard of the well-being of countless victims who entrust them to prevent unspeakable horrors.