Eight years after September 11, 2001, New York is, according to a story in today's New York Times, "A Fortress City That Didn't Come to Be." The article explores terrible occurrences imagined but not realized, in the context of the demonstrated resilience of New York's inhabitants.It's a rewarding read for those of us who walked anxiously through places like Times Square and the Port Authority building in the days and months following the attacks. We should delight in the return to normality on the streets of New York, as we should in the resilience of institutions such as the New York Fire Department, and indeed the insurance industry. We can do so with full awareness of the enduring changes in everyday life caused by the events of 9/11, and of the consequences of the day on a geopolitical scale.

At the same time, we should never forget. We must remember, in order to honor the dead - of New York, Washington, Pennsylvania and abroad- to honor the sacrifices and losses of the living, and to bear in mind that in the great sweep of history eight years is the blink of an eye. That's true from a risk management and business continuity perspective, as well as from a national security perspective.

Some of the unrealized fears remained so because our enemies' resources and capabilities were strained by our response. Some because of the innate resilience of the human spirit, some no doubt because of the characteristic grit and optimism of New Yorkers and Americans more generally. But as subsequent attacks in Bali, Madrid and London - to say nothing of countless atrocities on a lesser scale - demonstrate, our enemies are resilient too. And they have a long memory. Let us be grateful, then, to those that have kept us safe at home, let us remember the losses of our countrymen and allies, and let us be vigilant as professionals and as citizens.We must remember, in order to honor the dead, to honor the sacrifices and losses of the living, and to bear in mind that in the great sweep of history eight years is the blink of an eye. That's true from a risk management and business continuity perspective, as well as from a national security perspective.