This manual is designed to help police executives and other senior executives meet the new challenges involved in countering the threat of terrorism by summarizing writings on the essential components of a counterterrorism plan. The first three parts of the manual address the preparatory steps of the executives preparing themselves and their agencies for the efforts to follow, understanding the threat, and development of a plan and a support network. The last three parts of the manual cover in more depth the three essential components of a counterterrorism plan: developing intelligence on possible terrorists; identifying and protecting major targets; and expanding disaster-response capabilities to encompass the response to a terrorist attack. Illus.