Common Ground on Terrorism: Soviet-American Cooperation Against the Politics of Terror

Beliaev and Marks cochair the U.S.-Soviet Task Force to Prevent Terrorism, a colloquium of former government officials, scientists, scholars and journalists convening on an irregular basis in Moscow and Los Angeles to discuss ways of combating terrorism. The book, written by Task Force participants and of interest primarily to policymakers, is a preliminary report on the increasing vulnerability of Western society to hijacking, hostage-taking and ``techno-terrorist'' attacks on computer systems, power grids and nuclear plants. Recommendations for bilateral action include the establishment of an international criminal court with jurisdiction over drug trafficking, a Washington-Moscow channel for exchange of information and mutual assistance during terrorist incidents, and the prohibition of sales and transfers of military explosives and certain classes of weapons to nongovernmental organizations. Beliaev is a columnist for Literaturnaya Gazeta ; Marks is executive director of the Search for Common Ground. (May)