ABSTRACT
On September 11, 2001, a small number of desperate men hoping to earn paradise attacked New York and Washington, D.C. Their spectacular acts of destruction concluded America's nearly decade-long vacation from insecurity, known as the "post-Cold War era". Predictably, national shock soon became righteous anger, coupled to international campaigns against groups and states held responsible for the scourge of terrorism. In the wake of 9/11, the authors decided not simply to take their regular programs of research, education, and publication, and modify them to take on a new issue, but rather to create a new Center on Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Homeland Security. In the absence of homeland defenses, the United States (US) would remain vulnerable to repeats of 9/11, no matter how successful we might press the terrorists abroad. Analysis of the critical condition of the US military's Reserves system and recommendations to fix this vital part of American military strength and civic participation in our defense.
