that's a very powerful form of delusion. >> by the end of the year, it was clear that the united states was so ill prepared and failed to recognize the extraordinary change that had happened in the '70s. >> new year's eve, end of the decade but not yet of the deadlock. >> in 1979, we take a deep breath and realize that we're on the precipice of an entirely new era of terrorism. >> the islamic world is in crisis, and the crisis goes well beyond the u.s. embassy walls in tehr tehran. >> rather than catching our breath, what we should have been thinking is, how can this get worse? >> it sounds like the most futile observation possible, but i'm going to make it anyhow. we have to find a way to stop terrorism. it is growing at a scary rate. terror is a new form of warfare, and history shows that every new form of warfare, like hitler's blitzkrieg, seems indomitable at first, but it soon provokes