When Washington Was Held Hostage by Dennis McCafferty Saturday, 01 March 2008 31 years ago this month, the nation’s capital learned the extent of its vulnerability. Have the lessons been learned? Si Cohen was working on the seventh floor of the B’nai B’rith International building in Washington, DC, on Rhode Island Avenue at about 11 a.m. when his office received a call on March 9, 1977: There was a gunman in the building. Everyone had to get out. Cohen and his co-workers figured somebody was robbing the gift shop on the first floor—a bit of excitement for the...