Final Warning

The authors argue that terrorism is becoming the norm of global conflict, that there are virtually no safeguards against terrorist acquisition of biological, chemical or radiological weapons components, that key ``choke'' points such as electrical power stations, gas pipelines, water reservoirs, the food chain, are vulnerable to attack. Maintaining that television amplifies the effects of terrorist actions, they predict that the role of the news media as a whole will become increasingly controversial. Although they list methods to improve crisis management, Kupperman, adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., and Kamen, a Washington correspondent, conclude that there is little to prevent terrorists from targeting domestic soft spots, there are only ways of coping with their attacks. Frightening and precise, the book's warnings sound a resonant alarm. ( Oct.)