ABSTRACT

On 11 March – what Whitaker describes as 'Spain's 9/11' – the public transport network in Madrid was targeted during peak hour killing 191 people. In London on 7 July, 52 people were killed when the public transport network was again targeted at peak hour – John Tulloch described the attacks as 'underground zero'. These events represent the smallest sample of major terrorist attacks that have occurred since 9/11. Workers in businesses housed in major cities face a variety of security dilemmas in the everyday performance of doing business but the need for corporate counter-terrorism is a distinctively post-9/11 problem. The power of images of terrorism proves that terrorism is more than just violence. The chapter describes terrorism as a simulation, and provides a description of the city and its significance for understanding the meanings and consequences of terrorism for businesses and working people. It also provides an overview of this book.