The article by Stein and associates (Stein et al. 2004) documents the psychological consequences of the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. A significant number of the 16% surveyed adults with persistent distress reported ongoing impairment in vocational and social functioning as well as alcohol/medical/drug misuse. We are particularly concerned that so few informants either received counseling or were provided with pertinent information about posttraumatic distress from general medical providers or other sources. Life in the United States has changed since September 11, 2001. National fears of bioterrorism have fueled the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and increased security at airports, schools, and landmarks deemed potential terrorist targets. But terrorism is primarily psychological warfare. The impact of terrorism extends far beyond the immediate victims of such attacks. Its primary goal is to produce widespread social disruption through creation of a credible threat affecting cognitive, emotional, and behavioral stability and function. Indeed, the major changes in public policy and government expenditures since September 11, 2001, are clear evidence that the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon have continued to exert a profound psychological impact on American society as a whole. There is no question about the urgent need for prevention and protection against attacks with chemical, biological, nuclear, or even conventional weapons. We are concerned, however, that there has been insufficient attention to the major weapons wielded by terrorists. Those weapons are fear and anxiety. They are highly toxic, infectious agents that can bring a nation or society to its knees. Contagion by fear or anxiety can be immediate. It can infect large areas of the Psychiatry 67(2) Summer 2004 123