Dr. Alethia Cook is Assistant Director of the Security Studies Program at East Carolina University. As an assistant professor in the Political Science Department, Dr. Cook teaches courses in terrorism and response to terrorism. She has published a book and many chapters and articles on national security and federal-state-local relationships in national security decision-making.
The 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing forced the population in the interior of the United States to recognize that the heartlands were not immune from a massive terrorist attack. In the period following the bombing understandable emotion often clouded an objective analysis of how the authorities responded to the tragedy. Alethiia H. Cook has taken advantage of the passage of time to develop an excellent analytical framework and an impressive empirical approach largely based on interviews to provide an important anatomy of the crucial first twelve hours after a major terrorist incident. Emergency Response to Domestic Terrorism: How Bureaucracies Reacted to the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing should be required reading for policy makers, organizations and operational personnel that are responsible for responding to terrorists attacks and other major catastrophes. It should also be an essential part of any scholar or student who is involved in the increasingly vital and growing field of emergency management Stephen Sloan, Lawrence J. Chastang Distinguished Professor of Terrorism Studies, University of Central Florida; Professor Emeritus, The University of Oklahoma--Sanford Lakoff