>> 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 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 ingenuity to find ways to overcome it. remember skyjacking seemed